The Citadel of Truth
by Ooobserver
Summary: Now 17, Finn the Human has become a mature hero of Ooo. However, repressed feelings for Flame Princess are desperately trying to tear him apart, and the fiery girl knows his pain. As an ancient evil rises to consume all existence, a final chance will present itself to Finn and his friends to not only stop the madness but finally unite a couple struggling for each other's love.
1. Chapter 1: Raining Memories

Chapter 1: Raining Memories

If it weren't for the repeating **thump, thump **of the rain hitting the roof the inside of Finn's house would've been completely silent. Outside the sky was a thick shroud of darkness, not that it mattered since it was the middle of the night anyway. Countless creaks and drips could be heard throughout the tree's trunk, revealing all the beatings the old house had taken in years past.

Finn, as usual, was lying in his bed, arms behind his back, staring at the ceiling, waiting to fall asleep. It wasn't that he didn't exhaust himself from all he'd done that day, or that his mattress wasn't comfortable enough. This was just the normal everyday flow of events. The young hero comes home from a day of adventuring and dozens of other tasks, eats dinner in silence, then simply climbs up to his room and jumps onto the bed. It had been this way each time, ever since Finn's best friend Jake moved in with Lady Rainicorn, having finally gotten the guts to marry her.

Finn was 17 now, he understood his brother completely. He needed to be close to his wife-as the preacher at the candy church had said-in sickness and in health. The human was fully prepared for the dramatic shift in his life, a fact that surprised many people, especially Jake and Princess Bubblegum. The candy princess became quite impressed with how mature Finn had turned out. In just a few short years he had gone from goofy little teenager to focused and determined young man.

Still, Finn occasionally let himself loose while partying or fighting giant monsters. Both were common occurrences for a hero of his caliber. Plus, Finn didn't get to see many friends anymore. Being older, PB believed the hero could handle much more dangerous missions, some of which could take weeks to accomplish. The feel of his soft, warm bed after each success was like a graceful relief to Finn's aching body.

The human let out a sigh, tilting his head back further. He spotted the family sword hanging from its usual position above his bed. The crimson blade appeared quite worn, with several rough spots, stains of various blood from countless monsters, and worst of all, a chip about halfway up the length of the weapon.

The last quest Bubblegum had sent Finn on ended with him facing off a powerful enemy, an actual demon. It took a while for the hero to understand that the strikes from his sword were having little effect on the creature due to the similarity of the two objects. Demon blood apparently counters other demon blood. Luckily, the human always carried a small backup blade in his green pack, which he promptly used to behead the dangerous enemy before it managed to finish him off. The battle was not without consequences, clearly seen by the ruined appearance of the once glorious red sword.

Finn managed to remember an important chore for the next day. _I've got to get my sword to a blacksmith fast, never know when I'll be leaving for another crazy mission for PB._

He thought for a moment, gazing once again at the wooded ceiling above. He decided the best place to go would be the Fire Kingdom. About a year ago while exploring the blazing lands Finn came across a blacksmith's shop. It used to be that shopkeepers' attitudes for outsiders were less than desirable, but that was before the eventual influence of Flame Princess's new order. The vast majority of the Fire Kingdom's citizens had found the value of being honest and open-minded. Running the shop and accompanying forge was a friendly fire elemental named Ferrum.

The man was quite revered in the land of weaponry due to his skill with enchanted fire. It was rumored that his grandfather crafted Nothung, the very sword once used by the great hero Billy. Finn had remained a loyal customer and friend to Ferrum ever since the elemental happily fixed the boy's trusty katana. If anyone could repair the family sword it was him.

Lost in thoughts of the time ahead, Finn never noticed Beemo walk into the room. The tiny robot hopped onto the bed and lay down on the boy's chest, taking the same position with his arms behind his head, er, body.

"Still having sleep problems Finn?" the small computer asked with a hint of concern.

The human took in a deep breath then calmly let it out. "Yeah, but no probs, this is my thinking time, I don't get to do it any other time of the day, too busy slashing up evil or climbing through totally nuts swamps and mountains."

Beemo may have been naïve but was by no means unintelligent. It got up and walked over to the front of the bed, sitting back down near Finn's head. "Finn, can't you please tell me what's been bothering you? You've been like this ever since Jake moved out."

The boy looked down with a frown, now staring at the empty cabinet where his best yellow buddy used to snore loudly, every so often mumbling about sandwiches and meat man.

Finn chuckled a bit at the thought but it quickly faded as his sight fell upon the only thing keeping light in the room: a single candle. His deep blue eyes were filled with gold as his mind continued to focus on the silent dancing flame at the top of the white piece of wax.

Beemo, noticing his friend wasn't answering, leaded forward to look the boy in the face, only to notice where his attention was drawn. The little game box took a moment to think before putting together a guess in his mechanical brain.

"You're thinking about Flame Princess, aren't you Finn?"

The hero quickly shook his head out of his trance and sat up. "What? No! I'm just..just thinking about how much I miss the company of a warm fire." Finn struggled a bit to push out that sentence and Beemo caught it. He made a wide grin before responding. "A **living **warm fire maybe?" it giggled. Finn's face flushed slightly.

"No Beemo, I…I- I'm just, lonely." The hero brought up his knees and laid his chin on top of them. "With Jake gone it's not the same around here, everything's all mathed up. He was always there to understand me and help me whenever I was down or close to giving up. Even you Beemo are always going out to see your family back at the Mo factory. You guys both have people to turn to. Jake was the only family I had left and now it's his time to start his own future. I respect his decision and know it's right for him but at the same time now I'm all alone." A few tears could be seen escaping the human's tightly shut eyelids.

Beemo had grown a large frown of concern. It knew the situation now but didn't quite know what to do. Finn slid back down into his bed and laid down on his left side, away from the living computer.

After patting the young hero on the head, Beemo jumped off the bed and walked over to the other side, blowing out the candle. "Goodnight Finn."

As the machine climbed down the ladder from Finn's room it finally came up with an idea on how to at least give its friend a nice start the next morning. Beemo got onto the table in the living room and began dialing a number on its internal phone. It waited for the ring a few moments before someone picked up. A great yawn was heard. "Hello?" said a sleepy voice. Beemo was both glad and surprised that Jake was still awake.

"Jake, its Beemo, do you have a minute?"

A few seconds passed. "Yeah sure little buddy but why are you calling at this late hour?"

"Never mind that. Finn just came back from another journey and seems very sad with no one to talk to. Could you please come over in the morning, maybe make some bacon-pancakes for him?" Beemo waited eagerly for a response.

"Sure, anything to help out my bro, I don't see him enough anyways."

The game bot jumped up in success before replying. "Thanks so much Jake, see you at around 8 then, bye." It didn't want to waste anymore of the dog's sleep time, which was already extremely valuable to him.

* * *

With careful and patient accuracy the sun beamed its light straight through the window, hitting the sleeping human in the eyes. Slowly, Finn blinked his lids until he could fully see the bedroom around him. The rest of Finn's senses followed his sight, the first being his hearing, which was immediately occupied by a familiar singing.

"_Bacon pancakes, makin' bacon pancakes, take some bacon and put it on a pancake, bacon pancakes, makin…_"

Finn's attention shot up as did his head, smacking the hinges holding the demon blood sword. "Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his temple.

Like most of the time he hadn't bothered to strip to his underwear for bed and ended up sleeping fully clothed. At least it saved him some time as he began climbing down the ladder to the kitchen. A savory and mouth-watering taste could be taken in as Finn neared the source of the singing. He knew very well who it was and couldn't be happier to get a break from all the craziness that he'd been through for the past few weeks.

Having reached the kitchen, the young man turned to see the back of a jolly yellow bulldog, his faithful brother. "Jake!" Finn yelled in joy before running to the slightly spooked canine.

"Finn! Aw I missed you too bro." the dog responded hugging the human with his arms before stretching and wrapping them around his sibling. "Uh, Jake, I can't breathe that well." Realizing how hard he was gripping him, the dog quickly retracted his magical limbs and set Finn back on the ground.

"What are you doing here man?" the excited human cried.

"Oh just stopping by. A little bird told me my homie had returned from some rhombus mission and wanted a bit of company."

"Chirp, chirp," Beemo sang from the kitchen table.

Finn was grateful. "Thanks Beemo. I really needed this."

The machine showed a beaming face on its screen. "No problem Finn."

Jake motioned for his brother to sit at the table. "Come on dude, bacon pancakes are just about done."

"Alright!" the young man shouted. He was feeling much more energetic today, more like a kid. He missed those days.

The three friends finally settled to the table and began devouring the stacks of food Jake had prepared (well, Beemo just threw it all at his face plate while making eating sounds). Finally, the table was a disaster, bits of grease and pancake chunks were everywhere. The heroes however, were most satisfied, as indicated by the huge burps following the drinking of their milk.

"Oh man, I missed your bacon pancakes Jake, no one I know can make them better than you."

The dog gave a slight blush. "Aw thanks bro. Heh, I make breakfast every morning for me and Lady so I get a lot of practice."

Finn's enthusiastic look started to melt away, eventually returning to, for the most part, a frown.

Jake noticed his sibling's expression and pulled himself out of his memories. He looked at Beemo, who nodded and left the table to go about the day's business. Meanwhile jake scooted over to his brother and placed a paw on his shoulder.

"Listen Finn, Beemo told me about last night. What's the matter man? You know you can talk to me."

Finn gazed out the window; the sun was brightly showing the vast grasslands beyond the tree house. "I'm just, lonely dude. I know that most of the time I'm busy being a hero but somehow even the long quests that I go on seem to lose my interest. It's weird but I feel drawn back home you know, like I'm wanting to just relax, kick back, do some local heroics but never get too far from someone to talk to. Do you know at all what this feeling is Jake?"

The young man's brother stared at him with a strange look. It wasn't strange to him, not in the least. His best friend was 17 now, soon to be 18. He had that urge, the want to have someone, and he knew exactly what it meant, especially with what Beemo had told him about the night before.

"Finn, let me ask you something. You might take it wrong but it's important to help you understand yourself."

The human looked into his friend's large eyes. "What is it?"

Jake took another sip of his milk and then set it aside. "Finn, how do you feel about Flame Princess?"

In addition to the quick shock appearing on Finn's face, the dog could have sworn he heard a quiet gasp from somewhere in the room. His decided it may have just been Beemo and turned his full attention back to his friend.

"W-what do you mean by that? What does that have to do with it?" Even while he was rejecting the question Finn felt some part of him knew exactly what the magic dog was talking about.

Jake gave his bro a serious yet concerned stare. "You know what I mean dude, the candle?"

Finn's eyes widened in surprise. "Beemo even mentioned that, jeez." He smacked his head into the table before slowly raising it and putting his hands on his jaw. He sighed, knowing that listening to his besty was a wise move.

"I know that we're just friends now but I still have feelings for her, the special kind, and I've always kinda hoped she still had them too. But she's the ruler of the Fire Kingdom now, just like PB rules the Candy Kingdom, she's just as busy and distracted by watching over her people, they come first." Finn looked back out the window, as if trying to spot the blazing volcanoes of the place he was talking about. "Back when I liked Bubblegum I was too immature to realize her responsibilities, but now, seeing FP doing the same, it's helped me finally see the importance of the many to the few, especially when it's just the one me."

Finn sighed again. Jake's lack of response told him he wasn't finished. "Ok, fine. I'll spill. I've hung out with her as a friend for over two years now, and every time I try to hold back my true feelings out of respect for her. And still, I can't lie to myself. I don't just like her Jake, it feels like she's the one that I always want to talk to about, well, whatever. I-I love her. I really do."

Another wisp of a gasp was heard in Jake's ear. He paid it no mind, already glued to his brother's spilling of the beans.

"I feel like I'd never give up trying to find a way. Forget about being able to kiss her or hug her or even touch her hand, I just want to be able to see her every day, I'd replace the sun with her in a heartbeat."

Finn slowly looked back at the yellow canine. The bulldog was silent, taking in all that his friend had laid out in front of him. Finally, he took a deep breath and began to explain.

"Believe it or not buddy, I've dealt with the same feelings."

Finn's interest instantly peaked. _Jake has the answer? Of course he does, he always does!_ A flicker of excitement shown in the hero's depressed features.

Jake motioned for the human to walk with him. They both got up and approached the large window by the stove. They stared out carefully, actually being able to see some smoke over the horizon, indicating the still burning Fire Kingdom.

"You want a woman dude, a lady to spend your life with, someone who's there for you when no one else can be. For years while dating Lady I began feeling exactly what you are now. That's what finally pushed me to propose to her. I knew that it was time we grew old together and spend every day together." He put his paw on Finn's shoulder. "I'm sorry for leaving you man but you understand, I need Lady, she's my everything."

Awaiting a response, Jake removed his hand. Finn stared quietly at the rising smoke. Finally, after what felt like an hour, he replied.

"Odds are that FP will want to be engaged to some fire prince, someone who she can actually be with. After all, even if she sees me as more than a friend it would never work because of the flames from not just her but her whole kingdom." Finn clenched his fists. "There's always something separating me from the people I need most. With PB it was age, with you it's Lady, and now with FP, the girl that I've grown to…to love with all my heart, we are separated by nature itself, which left me with a weak human body that won't even let me show my princess how much I miss and care for her."

Finn had started to tear up again, placing his open palms on the glass. "It's for the best, without me, a lot of evil people we're eventually shown the error of their ways. As far as I can see it, if Flame Princess can be happy with finally finding her calling then I can gladly let go of my heart to make sure her's is at peace. I worry for her too much to hurt her chances of a happy life that was once stolen from her."

Jake had never seen his brother this distressed. Amazingly enough, Finn suddenly cracked a smile through his wet cheeks. He looked almost desperately through the window. Then, as if speaking to someone many miles away, he whispered. "You are **my **everything princess, and I'll go my whole life keeping you happy, in any way I can." As a final act to Finn's incredible confession, he gently kissed the glass for a few moments, before backing away, still holding a brave smile to his face.

"I'll always love you FP, even if I have to do it from the shadows."

With his final words spoken, Finn turned to Jake and placed his hand on the dog's shoulder. He nodded, still with the smile, thanking his sibling for being a true friend. Jake was still stunned but gave his best effort in a half-hearted grin.

With that, the young man turned toward the ladder and walked away. As he climbed the wooded bracing, Jake sadly watched him go. The last thing he noticed was a dimming light coming from the stovetop. He eyed the kitchen equipment carefully, noticing he had forgotten to turn it off after making breakfast. He could have sworn he saw the flickering flames in an odd, slender shape. He blinked, only to see the normal ring of tiny flames ready to cook food.

Suddenly, a thump was heard. Jake turned around to see that Finn had returned; his pack on his back and the demon blood sword in his hand. The hero pointed to the missing fragment of the blade. Jake understood, nodding. Finn opened the door and walked out toward the Fire Kingdom, without saying word.

Jake turned back to the stovetop, again just missing the strange shape in the orange glow. _I should get Neptr to check the gas valve junk on this thing_. With that, he turned the knob to the off position, cancelling out the dimming flames.

* * *

Flame Princess sat in front of the mirror in her bedroom, staring back at the astonished expression on her face. For a few minutes, there was no time to reflect, she still needed time to take it all in.

She had woken up this morning with many thoughts in her head. How to get a stockpile of raw building materials for the expanding kingdom, the negotiation this afternoon with the Rock Kingdom, what to get Cinnamon Bun for his upcoming birthday, how to get her father to shut up. However, even with the list of royal duties she had to tend to, she still had some stray thoughts about someone who hadn't visited in a while. Finn. She knew he was on another dangerous quest for Princess Bubblegum, but Flambo, the ever informative flambit, had announced his return just the other evening. She had hoped that after several weeks of stress for her young ruling life she could spend a few hours with a trusted friend who could at least make decent conversation, no offense to CB.

No matter how much she had matured though, FP had an infamous curiosity streak. Against her morals of no spying or deceit, she decided to enter Finn's house that morning through any source of fire she could connect with, just to make sure he was alright.

What she found however, was much deeper than she could have guessed. The guilt of what she had heard hung over her the rest of the morning, distracting her from combing her impossibly wild hair.

"Finn..." she said to herself.

"After all this time, the years of hiding all of your emotions." Even though the law of the Fire Kingdom prohibited lying or secrets, FP had never actually asked Finn how he felt; he, in turn, had also been a truly good friend the past two years. There was no deceit here, only a realization that he could never have her by his side.

_You have to be totally honest with me._

Her own words floated out of nowhere.

_He was honest, he accepted the truth. There is nothing I can hold against him._

The princess struggled with the flames encircling her head, as if they had a mind of their own, responding to the revelation FP had heard from Finn's own mouth. Giving up, she simply shrunk down her fire, not wanting to deal with the burning curls above her face, and decided that today she would stick with her short hair.

Flame Princess had long ago abandoned the awkward suit of the flame ruler, favoring a modified version of her classic royal dress. One night, while going to bed, she could have sworn she heard her father sadly whisper to himself that she looked just like her mother. She ignored the source but couldn't help being a little proud to be thought of as a true flame queen.

The beautiful puffed out dress slid on easily without having to deal with her strangely aggressive crimson locks getting caught anywhere in it. "Maybe I should have short hair more often." She mused to herself in the mirror. With a final touch of her crown, FP walked out of her room and down the halls toward the throne room.

Cinnamon Bun was already playing with his fire wolf, having it chase him all around the room while laughing happily. Flame Princess grinned and took her seat, noticing that her father was still snoring loudly in the lantern. As she waited for the first business of the day FP felt something on her cheek. Quickly placing her hand to her face, she found that it was a tear of lava. The young ruler jumped a bit, holding her hand out to see for herself.

Sure enough, a bright orange smudge of liquid rock sat in her palm. The princess was suddenly scared, realizing she had broken her own rule. She had lied to herself the whole way down to the throne room, using all her strength to ignore the sharp pain in her heart. Her instincts had taken over, unopposed. After all, what opportunity did she ever have to let her teenage need for a person to talk to come out? Just about a year. The year that changed her life, the year she realized how to help her people, the year that she thought maybe, just maybe, someone had given her a chance to have her own life. She did, she had indeed her own life. Now, at the peak of that achievement, the brightening of the Fire Kingdom, her heart asked her a single question: "He will give you everything he has just so you'll be happy, what are you going to do about it?"


	2. Chapter 2: Shimmering Hope

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I do not own Adventure Time or any of its associates and characters, just the OC's that I created._

* * *

Chapter 2: Shimmering Hope

Finn steadily paced across the Grasslands, making splashes whenever a puddle happened to be in his way. The sky wasn't quite clear yet, most of the storm had retreated to the north, possibly waiting for a second strike. In the meantime however, the young hero could peacefully walk toward his destination without the worry of being soaked.

The blackened peaks of the Fire Kingdom were finally in sight, hiding the molten rivers and flaming buildings just beyond their domain. Where the grassy plains ended was where Finn decided to stop for a break, reaching into his backpack to grab a sandwich. He smiled. This was one of Jake's creations, made just for his little bro. It was the same level of sandwich that his friend had made all those years ago, perfectly crafted with inspiration from the "creation realm", topped with loads of delicious ingredients, and finally a lobster soul to bring it all together.

_At least this time Magic Man won't be stealing it_. Finn thought. _No one's seen that toot for a long time. Maybe he finally kicked his own jerk butt out of Ooo._

As he took his first bite and drifted into savory bliss, the human closed his eyes and let himself unwind against the boulder he had stopped at. It was a truly peaceful day, without so much as a breeze to ruin one's concentration.

Taking in the final piece of his mouth-watering lunch, Finn wiped off his lips and prepared to get up. He stopped when he heard a low growl. Quickly reacting, he slid his sword out of the pack, prepared to defend himself. In all honesty thought, the crimson blade appeared very fragile and unlikely to intimidate anything bigger than a squirrel. "Who's there? Come on out or I'll start dicing."

From behind the boulder popped out a small orange and red creature, defensively holding its stubby little arms in front. "Whoa, whoa, easy there Finn, yous gotta be careful with that thing!" The tiny flambit stood up on the rock as the human lowered his guard, sticking the laughable sword back behind him. "Flambo! I'm getting lucky all over the place today." He reached to his pack and rummaged around for a moment before closing his fist around a small black object. "Could I get you to cast flame shield on me buddy?"

The fire elemental crossed his arms and gave a slight frown. "I don't know, yous was pretty intent on slashing poor little me to pieces." Secretly, the flambit was cool with Finn's actions. He was a hero, being prepared was his deal. But he hadn't seen the teen for a while and decided to mess with him a bit.

"Aw, come on Flambo." Finn held up his hand and presented a piece of charcoal. "I've even got something for you, charred from the finest hickory tree I could find."

"Hmmmm…" Flambo exaggerated some thinking time while the hero eagerly awaited a response. Finally, the fiery creature pounced forward, biting down into the sweet charcoal in Finn's hand while the young man flinched. Gulping down the treat, Flambo's fire briefly spiked from the fuel and he burped.

"Aaahh. That's the good stuff. Yous gots your flame shield brotha."

As the flambit began to chant fire runes appeared around him. After a few more seconds, he stretched his flame hand toward Finn and poked the young man's forehead with his finger. A blue aura quickly formed over the human and he grinned. The hero bent down and patted his friend on the head. "Thanks Flambo."

"any time brotha. So, yous goin to see Flame Princess?"

Finn stood up and scratched his arm. He looked down at his feet to see where he was standing. There were still a few blades of grass surrounding him. He was technically not within the borders of the Fire Kingdom yet.

"Yeah…sure…I'll visit, after I'm finished with my business." Though not a very righteous loophole, the grasslands didn't have a ruling party that outlawed lying, which Finn gladly took advantage of.

Flambo tilted his head a bit at the human's behavior but simply shrugged. "Well, since I gotta be honest, shes been missin yous, better not keep the boss waiting." He chuckled and ran off.

Finn frowned in thought for a moment but shook it off and proceeded into the Fire Kingdom. As he reached a clearing in the narrow canyon leading to the burning lands Finn spotted the large gates to the kingdom, watched over by two mighty flame guards equipped with fire staffs and swords. As the human approached they held up their hands for him to halt.

"Finn the Human, what is your business in the Fire Kingdom?"

The hero cleared his throat. "I'm here to visit the blacksmith to see if I can get my sword fixed." He carefully pulled out the blade to show the guards he was telling the truth, just in case.

The two tall figures nodded. "Do you wish to send a messenger forward to the palace to announce your later visit to the Flame Queen?" one asked.

Finn grew a little nervous. "Um, no thanks, I won't be going to the palace today."

The two guards blinked and looked at each other. "Dude are you serious, you haven't been here in like weeks."

Finn stepped forward. "No really, I'm just here for business."

The towering fire elementals were both skeptical and confused. One shrugged to the other then called up to the gatekeeper. "Hey Burns! Open the gate for Finn!"

The lava being at the top of the gate heard the order and cranked the gate controls, slowly pulling open the double doors that granted entrance to the kingdom of flames. Finn calmly walked through as the gates reclosed behind him. One of the guards groaned and put his knees together. The other looked at him questioningly.

"You've been doing that all day, what's wrong with you?"

The struggling elemental leaned on his fire staff. "Last night I got kicked in the boing-loins for calling my best friend's sister hot. And I didn't even mean sexy hot! I mean, she **was** that kind of hot but it's not what I meant."

The guard's counterpart shook his head. "Man, you are dumb."

* * *

As Finn walked through the streets of the fire market his adventuring instinct took over. He carefully gazed at all the amazing trinkets and charms that were being sold. A few shops even had swords. He made a mental note to return after getting his crimson one fixed. Dozens of other objects attracted Finn's attention, from flaming jewelry, to various weaponry, event he food looked delicious. The human let out a sign, knowing he would never know the taste of this world's cuisine.

After what seemed like hours of walking. The hero came upon a fairly isolated branch of shops along a mighty river of lava. At the end of the row of shacks stood a small building with cozy atmosphere-or at least cozy to any person that likes decorating their business with a bunch of weapons hanging above the door. So yes, the perfect place for Finn.

He walked up to the door and knocked on the thin slab of rock. A few moments later a fire elemental of similar height to Finn slid away the sheet of lava rock to welcome his customer.

"Ah, Finn! It's good to see you again my friend." After the two both shook hands with wide grins Finn was escorted inside.

"It's been a while Ferrum, I see you've expanded a bit," the human said as he explored the room with his eyes. Ferrum never much cared for cleaning up; most of the floor was covered in one raw metal or another. Against the walls were nearly every type of armament a person could imagine, swords, spears, shields, and glorious flame armor. Finn was always a bit sad to look upon the protective vests and greaves, unable to wear such powerful protection without burning up from the intense heat.

"So, what can I do for you today?" Ferrum asked eagerly as he polished off a wicked looking dagger.

Finn stepped forward and placed his demon blood sword on the table behind which his friend was standing. The fire elemental put the dagger aside and studied the intricate weapon.

"Incredible, such a fine display of craftsmanship." He then noticed the condition of the blade.

"I see. That needs to be taken care of. Plus an all-around sharpening and conditioning couldn't hurt, it looks like it's been through the wars."

Finn gave a friendly smirk. "You could say that. But I am a little concerned. I don't think I've ever seen you work with this kind of blade."

Ferrum raised an eyebrow then laughed. "Ha! There is no material that can get in the way of my work. Just tell me, steel? Lava ore? Perhaps dragon scales?"

Finn shook his head. "Demon blood."

Ferrum's enthusiasm dropped, but surprisingly, only for a moment. "Haha, you underestimated me Finn, I am no second-rate blacksmith!"

The elemental gentle picked up the sword with both hands and motioned for the young man to follow him to the back. As Ferrum drew aside a heavy orange curtain, the back room was revealed, the location of the fiery man's mystical forge. He set down the crimson sword on a massive anvil and began stoking the dim flames within the hearth. Ferrum began by shooting some of his own blames into the embers, then slowly taking a knife and pricking his finger, allowing the magma blood in his veins to join the mix. The moment the drop struck, the magical flames swirled into a whirlwind that caused both of the guys to back up.

"And now the final touch," Ferrum declared as he rubbed his hands together. He took in a deep breath then let it out. Thus began a chant, followed by various hand signs. At first Finn thought it looked like a flame shield being cast, but soon realized that the incantation he was witnessing was something far more powerful. Massive and beautiful runes appeared around the fire elemental as he continued his chant. Finally, to the hero's astonishment, Ferrum walked straight into the blaze, the runes steadily following him.

The young man was about to reach out to stop the blacksmith, but was too late as the fires engulfed the being, turning a light shade of blue.

"Ferrum! Oh my Glob man, are you ok in there?" Finn hesitantly approached the forge but stopped as a flaming hand was held up from within the cyclone of blue fire.

Suddenly, the twister dissipated, leaving only Ferrum, the enchanted fire's aura swirling around his body. The elemental stepped out of the source of the magical combustion and walked up to Finn.

"One can only truly control fire by becoming one with it."

The human was in awe at the statement. He had never thought of flames in such a way. The hero had long ago understood that fearing fire at every turn only clouded one's mind. The true force of flames was the gorgeous colors and shapes that the mysterious orange wind managed to create. Finn also knew that his acceptance to the might of fire was due in no small part to a very special individual…

"You alright Finn?" Ferrum was looking at his friend with concern.

The young man just realized he had been staring deeply into the receding enchanted fire still glowing in the hearth. He shook his head to regain his senses.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I-I was just…thinking, that's all."

The fire elemental stood for a moment confused but soon gathered on his friend's expression. He grinned and walked back to the anvil, picking up a large metal hammer from the table. He then proceeded to walk over to an old looking shelf which contained countless scattered bottles full of unknown liquids. He ran his finger across multiple labels until he found what he was looking for.

"Ah here we go, demon blood, straight from the Nightosphere."

The man turned to Finn, shaking the bottle in his hand. "Not the most pleasant of my travels, haha."

Finn gave a chuckle, remembering the rescue mission he and Jake had done to get Marceline back from her father's crazy 'family business'.

Ferrum walked back over to the anvil and took hold of the demon sword. He then took it over to the forge and stuck the crimson blade into the hearth. Immediately, the enchanted fire swirled around the sharp weapon, coiling onto it like a snake. The flames then sped up, creating a miniature tornado around the magical sword. After a few moments, the fire elemental withdrew the blade and brought it once more to the anvil.

"Before we start Finn, do you remember the incantation to banish the spirit of this sword?"

The hero nodded, having committed it to memory in the event that the enraged demon would return to claim its lost essence.

"Good, now you might want to step back my friend. Finn, Finn are you listening?"

The human was once again in a trance, staring deeply into the heart of the enchanted fire. He suddenly took a step forward, then another, and another. He kept it up, having a strange urge to embrace the tingling heat in front of him. It was then that Finn felt a burning sensation on his shoulder. He snapped out of the trance and looked back, seeing Ferrum's now blue hand on his shirt sleeve.

"How-How is that burning me, I still have my flame shield."

The fire elemental snickered. "No mere spell can deny enchanted fire my friend."

Finn looked back at the flames once again, this time controlling himself to stay in the same spot.

Ferrum leaned against a support column with his arms crossed and the smirk still on his face. "It's a strong feeling isn't it, the need to be with her?"

The young man pulled himself out of his trance for the final time. "What? I'm not thinking about her!" he attempted to defend himself.

The man before him shook his head, still smiling. "Come on Finn, you've told me the whole story between you two. Besides, why else would you be clinging so tightly to your heart?"

Finn's eyes went wide, he slowly looked down to his chest. Sure enough, his fingers were practically digging into the skin above his beating source of compassion and understanding.

"I-I was just having trouble breathing, the flames are just so, captivating and beautiful."

Ferrum couldn't help letting out a laugh. "Are you talking about the enchanted fire or my queen?"

Finn blushed then turned away from the fire. Ferrum's grin disappeared, replaced by one of pity, and a hint of regret for teasing the young hero.

"I'm sorry Finn, I didn't mean to intrude into your feelings. You see, according to ancient fire elemental legends, fire's original form came from the heart. Enchanted fire commands many incredible attributes, including the ability for its wielder to read people's emotions."

The young human turned at these words, amazed by how little he knew of the brightly flickering force of nature. "Wow, that's incredible."

"Perhaps then, noble blacksmith, you could help me understand my own feelings."

Finn and Ferrum nearly jumped out of their skins at the new voice. But it was one that they both knew very well. From behind the heavy orange curtain came a slender figure wearing a deep red cloak to cover its face. Slowly, the hood was pulled down to reveal a face that to Finn was more enchanting than any other fire in the world.

* * *

_(Earlier, as Finn entered the Fire Kingdom)_

The small figure shrouded in blue was barely visible from the palace. For a few moments, Flame Princess thought her mind was messing with her. As she kept looking however, the shape grew into that of a humanoid, catching the fire ruler's attention. It was in fact Finn the Human, returning to the kingdom he knew better than any other, even more so than Princess bubblegum's.

_He came, _Flame Princess thought. _But there should have been a messenger to tell me of his impending arrival. Was he…planning not to see me?_

The princess watched as the far off young man changed directions toward the marketplace, not even taking a second look at the fire palace. Another stream of lava was flowing down the flaming girl's face, which she quickly swiped away. No matter what she did, even few minutes she was forced to clean her cheeks, the ruler inside her telling her to avoid the matters boiling in her chest.

_Ignore it, you heard him, he is fully willing to let you go._

A different side spoke up.

_It's been years and he still never found an answer to his 'weakness', it's for the best._

A third.

_Responsibility demands sacrifice…_

This time, FP herself.

"Responsibility? I have succeeded you butts! The kingdom has never been better with the rule I have. The lands are as stable as the strongest flames. Maybe, just maybe, it's time to move on to the next stage of a royal's responsibility, finding someone to rule beside, someone to help ease the pressure off a single target, someone to comfort me in times of hardship, someone who, no matter what, will never leave me to suffer by myself."

The three inside her were silent for a moment.

_Even so, it cannot be __**him**__._

_He is but a simple human, he cannot stand the burden of this kingdom._

_And besides, what makes you think he'd even __**want**__ to share your responsibility?_

_Better to go with a prince, one who has studied our culture and politics all his life, who can walk among our people as an equal, who can embrace you and relieve the heavy weight upon your shoulders._

_He is nothing, just a tiny friend who drops by every once in a while._

_Why do you even care so much about him?_

_He is too different from you, and is just a commoner to top it all of-_

"SHUT UP!" The balcony shook like thunder as Flame Princess brought her fists down on the edge of the railing. Multiple cracks formed instantly and the great lava lake below bubbled with instability.

"If anything, Finn is stronger than any fire elemental! I have witnesses countless flame soldiers cower as storm clouds approached the battlefield, while Finn fearlessly climbs volcanoes than endlessly shoot blazing lava at his body. Over the past few years his heroic and kind spirit has befriended dozens of my citizens, adding my kingdom to those that ask for his aid when threatened by a force we cannot stop."

Flame Princess gazed across the land to the schoolhouse in the distance. She smiled.

"He's taught my little brothers how to fight, how to help others, he even helped train them to control their fire conjuring."

Her eyes fell toward the military barracks.

"My dear older brother, one of the toughest men I know, fought side by side with him when the kingdom was attacked by a ruthless water dragon. As they stood atop the beast's slain body he and his entire platoon saluted the hero, calling him an honorary member of the Fire Kingdom army."

Flame Princess closed her eyes, bringing her hands together on top of her chest.

"This kingdom owes him everything, I owe him everything, we all owe him the miracle rebirth of the once hated race of fire elementals."

The voices stopped. But then, a forth dropped in.

_Then what are you waiting for?_

FP's eyes fluttered open. Cinnamon Bun had lived in this oven for two years now, and he was even more vulnerable than Finn. Why couldn't the human do the same? Prince or hero, in this world, the princess learned that titles meant nothing, all was determined by the strength of one's fire, the strength of one's heart.

FP flew down to the throne room. She approached a patiently waiting fire elemental.

"Messenger, go awaken my cousin Prince Furnius, give him this negotiation document, and inform him that I am on temporary leave. He's in charge until I return."

The messenger accepted the scroll and bowed. "Of course, your highness." He left in a hurry deep within the corridors of the palace.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Flame Princess looked up at her father, who was wearing a look of disgust. Ever since the king had been imprisoned, his nephew had both made a great friendship with his ruling cousin and greedily enjoyed his uncle's suffering as payback for the murder of his father.

"Have a nice day dad, I'm sure Furnius will."

FP left to her room, where she reaching into her wardrobe for a simple crimson cloak to hide her royalty. After saying bye to Cinnamon Bun she quietly left the palace, heading straight to where she last saw Finn.

For what seemed like forever the princess strolled through the market, being offered various merchandise by the shopkeepers. After managing to avoid a crowd of hagglers trying to get the best deal she finally took a break.

_This is taking too long. Wait! I'm so stupid!_

FP held up her hands and spun around a few times like a top, unleashing a wave of harmless sensor heat, which then returned to her. She instantly felt the lower body temperature that indicated a non-elemental and rushed to the somewhat deserted part of town.

Within the barely attached arm of solidified lava were a few scattered stores, but nothing fancy. At the edge of the street though, she found what she was looking for, the blacksmith's shop. She remembered that Finn's sword was in need of repair, and being made of quite 'unique' material it was likely that the process would take a long time, increasing the chances that Finn was still there.

FP walked up to the stone door and knocked. There was no answer.

_Probably busy helping Finn, _she guessed.

The princess took the initiative to walk in on her own after a bit of struggle with moving the door. Inside, the shop was filled to the brim with weaponry. It was the perfect place to find a person like Finn. The sounds of swirling flames were heard from a mysterious back room. FP assumed it was the place where the forge was contained and therefore the location of the tools needed to fix the human's red blade.

Before her hand managed to push aside the curtain however, she heard the voices of two males inside. Disappointed by how much of a hypocrite she was being today, Flame Princess nevertheless couldn't help leaning in to hear what they were discussing.

"It's a strong feeling isn't it, the need to be with her?"

_Her? Is he talking about me?_

One of the two in the next room was definitely Finn. Since the voice was not his, it had to be the blacksmith asking the question.

"What? I'm not thinking about her!"

FP frowned. One because for a second she thought Finn meant it, but she eventually sensed the fib in his voice. Secondly, well, he **fibbed. **Inside her kingdom. She sighed. The queen was supposed to be the example for the rest to follow and the princess was doing a terrible job. Due to this fact, and that Finn was only doing it to apparently protect her, she decided to let it go this once.

"Come on Finn, you've told me the whole story between you two. Besides, why else would you be clinging so tightly to your heart?"

Words from earlier floated into the fiery girl's mind.

_I-I love her. I really do._

She wondered for a moment, did she feel the same? She always had trouble sorting through her emotions.

Distracted, all she caught from Finn's next words were 'captivating' and 'beautiful'.

A laugh. "Are you talking about the enchanted fire or my queen?"

FP felt herself blush. Was Finn doing the same? She carefully listened further as the blacksmith apologized, then explained the power of this 'enchanted fire'. The princess was in shock. A magic that could read emotions? This was an opportunity she couldn't miss. Deciding that the eavesdropping had to end (and desperately wanting to look Finn in the eyes), she stood up and announced he presence with a request.

"Perhaps then, noble blacksmith, you could help me understand my own feelings."

She slipped through the curtain and carefully pulled down the hood of her cloak, receiving astonished expressions from both the young adult fire elemental and the human young man standing in the room.

* * *

_**Well, based on the supportive reviews from the last chapter there's no way I won't continue this story (not that I was ever planning to). I'll try to get in a new chapter every few days or so. I hate to leave people hanging.**_

_**Just remember: Positive feedback helps me write MORE, negative feedback helps me write BETTER**_

**_Take your side and share anything you want. Later._**


	3. Chapter 3: The Ancestral Flame

Chapter 3: The Ancestral Flame

Two fire elements and a human stood in silence, the same they had been for literally several minutes, just staring at each other. The male elemental known as Ferrum appeared more confused than surprised as his eyes darted back and forth from the girl of flames and the young hero. Said girl, the ruler of the Fire Kingdom, slowly shifted her gaze back and forth between the two guys, but eventually struggled to keep them off the blue-eyed young man before her. The hero, Finn, however, never took his sight off of the princess that had just intruded upon the mystical forge where the trio was now gathered.

Eventually, Ferrum snapped out of his bewilderment and got down on one knee while bowing his head to the fiery female. She did not notice, her golden eyes were now entirely focused on the human, who shared the same state, piercing each other with their gazes.

Before the blacksmith could break the silence he noticed the flames of the hearth reacting strangely. They ever so gently licked the ground, approaching and finally encircling the two teenagers in the room. At the sense of a heat greater than normal fire, both of them slowly broke the lock of sight between them and looked at the floor. The circle of enchanted fire began to morph, shifting into a different shape.

Ferrum stood absolutely shocked as the flames finally steadied themselves, still surrounding the young ones, in the shape of an infinity symbol. Without warning, the fire took on a deep shade of pink, before eventually dissipating and returning to the forge.

_What just happened? Not even enchanted fire has a will of its own._ Ferrum's mind was a blank.

Finn and Flame Princess finally took the time to look over to the blacksmith. FP quickly shook her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you may rise sir."

Ferrum stood up and looked at his queen.

"What could bring you to my humble abode my lady?"

Flame Princess flinched slightly. _Only Finn can use that formality on me! Wait, what did I just say to myself?_

The princess buried the thought and cleared her throat.

"Um, please, just refer to me as the princess, or your majesty."

Ferrum bowed again and returned to his spot behind the anvil. Finn and FP slowly moved closer before the blacksmith held up his still blue hand.

"Stand back if you would, this will be too hot even for a fire elemental."

He glanced at Finn.

"Ready?" the man asked.

The young hero nodded.

Ferrum began a spectacular display of control and skill as he swirled the blue aura around him then absorbed the flames into his hammer. Using his free arm, the elemental blasted the super-heated blade with a focused torch of bright fire, barely holding its colorful hue as it became almost white. An ear splitting scream was heard as a ghostly substance emanated from the sword, first swirling around before creating the form of a demon.

"AARGH! You mortals will pay for causing such pain! I will drag you into the deepest pits of the Nightosphere to feast on your flesh!"

Finn took a single step forward and made several quick hand gestures before speaking an incantation.

"Kee Oth Rama Pancake!"

The demon appeared to begin retreating but incredibly, remained stable.

"I will not be beaten so easily this time, boy!"

Finn was astounded the spell didn't work but his friend quickly explained.

"I've begun pouring the demon blood, but just like your own body would reject certain blood your sword is doing the same, the interference from the demon is stronger, you need to increase the power of the spell!"

Ferrum was struggling to be heard as the demon's screeches of pain continued. Finn didn't know what to do, in reality he stunk at magic, he always solved everything by physical force. As if answering a call, the enchanted fire of the hearth crawled over to Finn and coiled around him, leaving a few inches between itself and the young man to avoid burning him. Several runes appeared in front of the human's eyes. Finn of course could not read them. As this realization went through his mind, the fire reacted by flashing brightly. Covering his eyes didn't help the hero from being blinded momentarily. When he opened his lids again however, he was surprised.

Flame Princess was paralyzed as she watched the flames surrounding the human, who was intently studying the runes in front of him. Then, he stepped forward up to the demon and raised his hand, as if denying the monster to continue its screaming.

"Kee Sol Oth Efferium Ramas Pancake!"

Seconds later, the demon was engulfed in a wave of white flame, incinerating his body while he didn't even have the time to make one final screech. As the being vanished, Ferrum was seen pounding his flaming hammer into the blade, forming the newly symbiotic blood to match the rest of the weapon. After a few more strikes, he quickly lifted the blade and placed his palm upon the edge. In an instant, he sucked every bit of heat from the crimson sword into his own body, leaving behind a glorious sheen on the red surface. Ferrum then proceeded to place the blade onto a rack hanging on the wall.

Afterwards, he approached the hearth and put his hands together as if he were about to pray to Gob. Instead, he took in a deep breath from his nose and let the useless remains of the air out his mouth. The blue aura of flames slowly left his body, returning his skin to a natural orange. The flames made their way back to the hearth, which fully calmed itself as if it were nothing more than a campfire.

Ferrum appeared dizzy and began to stumble. Luckily the other two in his company caught his arms and brought him over to a bench near the back wall. Giving the blacksmith the full space, they sat themselves down on two stone blocks nearby.

"Oh man," the fiery man began, holding his head. "I stayed in that state for way too long."

Finn handed his friend a mug of lava which had been sitting on the table. He thanked the hero and chugged the drink down his throat.

Flame Princess suddenly remembered her request.

"Wait, what about reading my emotions?"

Ferrum frowned, realizing he was unable to serve his queen.

"I'm sorry princess, my body can't take anymore enchanted fire right now."

He looked to the young human and grinned, returning his attention to FP.

"Heh, maybe you could ask Finn to do it, the hearth seems to like him a lot."

Flame Princess blushed heavily at the idea of showing the hero all of her feelings. She looked over to see that he had a somewhat similar thought. His face was red enough to be seen through the flame shield. Unknowingly, the two were once again staring at each other. Ferrum started feeling a bit awkward and stood up carefully.

"I'm uh, gonna go get some ice for my head." _What the heck did I just say!?_

The teens didn't notice his comment, so he slowly exited through the curtain to the other room. A few moments after he left, Finn managed to break the stare and stood up clearing his throat. He casually walked over to the hearth as he made conversation for the first time since Flame Princess arrived.

"So…how are things going around the palace?"

FP also stood up, following Finn to the hearth. She stopped a few feet away from him.

"It-it's been…good, I guess," she replied with a weak voice.

The human took a few more seconds to look at the forge before turning to face the princess. He scratched the back of his head.

"Cool. So uh, how long were you um, you know…listening to me and Ferrum talk?"

Flame Princess took hold of her arm with her opposite hand, looking down at the floor nervously. She really didn't want to tell the truth to the hero but she had done enough rule breaking today.

"Since he asked about a 'her' that he thinks you were thinking about."

She could barely contain a light blush on her cheeks. Luckily, Finn didn't notice.

"Oh, ok, heh. We were just having some friendly guy conversation, nothing that big."

_Not exactly a lie I guess, _FP thought.

The princess took a step toward the young man, to which he froze.

"Well, aren't you going to do at least some kind of greeting? We haven't seen each other for a while."

Finn looked at the ground for a moment before taking a step toward the fiery girl. He then quickly held out his hand. FP quickly slapped the disappointment out of her mind and held out her own hand. They did a few firm shakes.

"It's good to see you again Flame Princess." Finn gave the best grin he could. FP did the same. In those split seconds however, they were both enjoying each other's touch. They were both, unfortunately, thinking of the same thing and were strongly resisting the urge to wrap around each other for a moment.

A mischievous source decided to do it for them. The flames of the hearth swiftly shot at Finn, just nicking his rear end.

"Youch!" he cried. His reaction pushed him forward, where he was forced to use the only stable object in front of him to keep from falling over. As the young man smacked into the princess, she managed to stay sturdy enough to stop his movement. The two teens were now pressed against each other, where they both flushed red beyond normal ability. For a few moments, they were both in shock, staring deep into the other's eyes, before Finn regained enough senses to step back.

"I'm so sorry FP! That fire can actually burn through my flame shield and well, you know."

Finn sat down in front of the hearth, which was innocently calm. The princess also finally reacted, walking up to the human who now had his back to her. She sat down next to him, placing a hand on his leg.

"It's ok Finn, I know those flames are unpredictable."

The hero shot a quick glance at his friend, sitting beside him with a small smile on her face. At that moment, the curtain drew back and Ferrum stepped in. The second he noticed the two teenagers, he bolted like lightning back the way he came.

"How is your family doing?" It was the best way Finn could think of to break the ice (so to speak).

Flame Princess gazed into the hearth, studying the glowing embers and short flames still breathing within the forge.

"My little brothers are doing better, they've started learning swordsmanship, which is impressive at their age." She shot a quick grin at the young man next to her. "I'm pretty sure they got the idea from you, they look up to you, you know?"

Finn returned a grin, now looking again at the fire. FP then let out a chuckle.

"They actually started calling you their big bro at school."

At this Finn managed to start laughing. They laughed together for a moment then settled down.

"My older brother is still out training in the volcano peaks. He was a bit disappointed you weren't here to come with. He said he was hoping to talk with you but wouldn't tell me what about. He just rubbed the back of his head and said it was 'guy stuff'." FP looked over at Finn. "Do you maybe know what it was about?"

Finn did indeed have a guess, but was way too shy to admit it. He simply shrugged. Flame Princess didn't think much of it and continued.

"Dad is still a pain in the toot. Always going off about how I was doing everything wrong. Although I think the way Cinnamon Bun bothers him is the real reason he's so moody."

At this they both laughed again.

"My cousins are still around, helping out every once in a while, I'm glad to have them on friendly terms."

Finn nervously scratched his arm. "I hope I can do the same one day," he mused, remembering the incident where Furnius and Torcho attempted to assassinate the king.

"So, what about you FP?"

The princess turned back to Finn. Every time the two locked eyes it took a minute to stop, as if there were magnets stuck in their faces. FP sighed, once more turning to the hearth.

"It's been hard. The older I get the more is placed on me. It becomes really stressful to be the one person to turn to in an entire kingdom." The mental conversation with the voices slipped into her memory for a moment.

"I just…I guess I wish there was someone to help you know? With all the royal junk that grod knows I don't want to deal with."

Instinctively, she looked for a reaction from the hero staring into the fire, but to her surprise, he was actually looking at her again. He smirked a little.

"Well, I wish I could but I'm pretty sure that falls beyond the borders of a hero or knight of a kingdom. What you're talking about seems more like a job for your um…eventual partner or, whatevs."

He was extremely stressed drifting into this topic and didn't manage to hide it from Flame Princess simply by returning to the fire. She frowned a little out of concern. Out of nowhere however, the hearth shot a small ember at the girl. She reacted fast enough and caught it in her palm. The glowing piece of heat twinkled slightly. No sure why she did, FP pulled the ember to her heart, allowing the speck of flame to press against her chest. The fire was indeed warmer than her own, but not quite enough to harm her.

It did however, seem to direct its heat straight into her skin. FP closed her amber eyes, focusing on the foreign energy that had gently entered her. She felt safe, comforted somehow, as if the hearth had sent her a little hug. A hug. She was missing one of those. It had been a while since she got one. The princess shot a look out of the corner of one eye. Finn had rested his head on his knees, a somewhat saddened look on his face.

Suddenly, a new feeling sprouted from the flame's tiny embrace: confidence. FP slowly lowered her hands and began to scoot over to the oblivious human. It wasn't until she rested her head against his shoulder that the young man reacted, a look of astonishment now in his eyes.

"F-Flame princess, what are you doing?"

FP huffed a bit.

"I'm, kinda tired ok. And since you never gave me a friendly hug this is the best I can take."

The human felt a little guilt. He knew that he was trying to somewhat avoid FP by any opportunity but that was clearly not working with her. He felt a pinch in his chest and groaned inside his head. The conflict within him was starting to become annoying.

_Fine, I'll do it._

Finn readjusted himself, carefully placing an arm around Flame Princess while swinging the other around to do the same. The fiery royal was initially surprised as he completely pulled her in for an embrace. This was soon overtaken as she slowly placed her arms to Finn's back. The two sat there for a few moments, both looking at whichever wall was in front of them as their heads rested on each other's shoulder.

As they pulled away, the hearth reacted the second their faces crossed each other. Two small jets of flame were shot behind their heads, sending a rather unpleasant heat to both their necks. As with Finn's troubles earlier, their reactions forced them to meet the other's forehead. After initial shock, their eyes once again drowned together in an unbreakable bond. Neither one blinked. Unknowingly, an unknown gravity was pulling them closer together.

Finn and FP's eyes gently grew closed as they both tilted their heads to opposing sides. The pleasant heat from their breath was only matched by the inevitable contact of their lips. Two heartbeats accelerated rapidly as the gap closed between the teens. The princess's flames grew extensively, but oddly enough seemed to harmlessly swirl around the joined humanoids, as if adding a barrier so as to not have anything interrupt.

There was something different, flame shield offered an extreme loss of touch when in contact with a fire elemental yet Finn could fully feel the soft, warm lips against his. Before his mind could question further, his heart kicked the thought out and gave him the passion to deepen the kiss. The human's hand came up to rest on the girl's cheek. Again, Finn could feel the true warmth and feel of FP's fair skin. He had never experienced this before, the law of nature declared he should be burned.

Noticing the struggle to breath that both he and Flame Princess were feeling, Finn gently pulled away from her, opening his eyes at the same time she did. Her sudden gasp startled him. Finn then realized his face and hand were starting to burn up. Looking down at his appendage though, he received a greater shock. The blue flame shield had been peeled back while the enchanted flames circled the human's wrist, slowly allowing the protective spell to reapply itself. The same was happening at the young man's neck. After a few moments Finn's skin relaxed at the relieving coolness of the shield.

The flames, the teens noticed, were pink in color. Instantly after being discovered however, they retreated like snakes back into the hearth, once more growing silent. After staring a moment into the forge they turned back to face each other. A blank stare covered both faces. Finn reacted first, quickly turning away from the princess and burying his face into his knees.

"I guess you can slap me and tell me to get out now."

The tone of his voice had no sarcasm, he was completely serious. He even had his face cringed, ready to take a sting. Nothing came. Finn slowly turned his gaze to meet FP's. She was deep in thought. Finally she spoke.

"Finn, I have to be honest. I…I wanted that to happen."

The human's insides tensed up, not in the least expecting such a response.

"And, something else I have to tell you, since I don't like breaking my own rules." The fiery girl was staring back at the fire. "I was there, at your house this morning, watching you and Jake through the flames in the stove."

Finn wished someone could walk up and knock him unconscious, or at least cover his face, which felt so full of blood it hurt.

"I swear I was just worried about you, I didn't mean to overhear…everything you said."

FP looked back at Finn, unstable nerves visible on his face.

"I-I-I-I…" The hero could not form a response.

Flame Princess continued, summoning otherworldly courage to push the words out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry Finn, but it hurt to know that you were breaking yourself down, keeping everything bottled up. Trust me, I know the feeling."

Back to gazing into the hearth.

"I wondered for so long why you had never looked for another girl to spend time with. I actually felt bad learning that you would never let me go. Naturally, the ruler in me said it didn't matter but now, there's something new."

At this comment, Finn's nerves were smoothed out a little by curiosity.

FP returned to the hero's eyes.

"I'm at the point where my duties as queen are too much for my own, and I don't want to have to share the throne with my cousins, they still have a bit of bloodlust in them."

She scooted closer to Finn again, leaning her shoulder on his.

"What I'm trying to say Finn is, you've always been there, not just for me but for my kingdom, my citizens, even my family. Even though you know you can't intimately be with me you keep coming back, just out of concern for my happiness."

She looked up to Finn's face. He was carefully listening.

"I know that it might be selfish to ask you this, especially with all you've done but I want to try."

She readjusted herself to sit on her knees and took the young man's hands in her own.

"Finn, will you please, at the very least, come live closer to the Fire Kingdom?"

The human's face was beyond shock. He looked first into Flame Princess's pleading eyes, then into his hands, still being lightly held by the fire elemental. A thought struck his mind. He looked back into the princess's beautiful golden eyes, his favorite sight in the whole world.

"Before I answer, tell me something."

FP eagerly stared into the deep blue of Finn's eyes.

"How exactly, do you feel, about me?"

The princess looked to the ground for a second, noticing the hearth's unexplainable flames were cleanly sneaking around the two once again. She nodded to herself mentally and let out a deep breath. Closing her eyes, the girl attempted to look into her heart. As she did, the enchanted flames gentle caressed her, as if encouraging her. The unnatural warmth was somehow calming. FP found it much easier to dig into her emotions.

_The flames are helping me find the answer. Just like I wanted._

After a moment of waiting, Finn saw a tear escape from his friend's loosely shut eyes. Without thinking, he reached out and wiped it off. As he motioned to return his limb to his side, Flame Princess's hand stopped him. She opened her amber eyes and grew a small smile on her lips. She placed her other hand on top of the one holding Finn's. The hearth's fire formed a small barrier around them.

"Finn, I…I think I feel the same way you do."

The human's eyes grew wider.

"I think that deep down, I could never treat you as just a friend. Because hiding away all this time in my heart is the truth, that I lo-"

A violent blast of flames split the air. Trained to the highest point of reaction time, Finn pushed himself and Flame Princess as far from the source as he could. A high pitched crackling was produced from the enchanted flames as they retreated to the forge. The two teens looked to the origin of the blast, only to see Ferrum holding his smoking fist out in front of him, his eyes staring furiously at the hearth.

"Finn, your majesty, get away from that fire, now!"

They complied and scurried to the wall as the blacksmith cautiously approached the flames.

"What's going on Ferrum?" Finn asked in bewilderment.

The fire elemental didn't dare take his eyes off his target. "That fire, it's sentient, it's been crawling over both of you ever since you arrived. I fear it might be cursed."

All three sets of eyes now looked upon the forge. Flames seemed ready to lash out at their attacker. Instead however, the noise died. The brilliant orange winds stabilized and in an instant, turned a pure white.

Ferrum lowered his aim at the hearth, a look of disbelief on his face. Finn saw it and looked to FP. She had the same expression. The girl stood up from the huddle her and the hero had been in and began approaching the fire, as did Ferrum. Finn stared in amazement as they both placed their hands into the flames. The flames emanating from the elementals' bodies became white as well before the two finally removed their contact with the fire.

Finn walked up behind his companions and stopped as he came between them. The white flame remained strong.

"What just happened?" he asked, tired of being left out.

Flame Princess's hand found Finn's and took hold of it while she continued to stare in wonder at the cleansing flame.

"Every fire elemental knows of this fire, the only one that can burn itself so bright it can turn absolutely white."

Ferrum continued from that point.

"It has never gone out in the existence of our people, it was believed to have created the very first being of flames."

Ferrum took a step toward the fire.

"Now I understand why this hearth was passed down through my family as long as we can remember. Our duty is to protect and fuel this incredible blaze of pure creation."

Finn was astounded. To be standing on front of the mother of all fire elementals was indeed a huge deal to him.

FP's grip on his hand increased. She was feeling overwhelmed.

"The Ancestral Flame." She whispered.

* * *

_**Thank you guys for all the positive feedback and 'constructive feedback' (as i've learned it should be called).**_

_**Please continue reviewing as I am really getting pumped to continue this story. Later **_


	4. Chapter 4: Shattered Faith

Chapter 4: Shattered Faith

Flame Princess took another small sip of her magma, watching the steam slowly drift off into the room. She sat upon a cylinder of solid rock, waiting intently for Ferrum to return from showing Finn to the back. After encountering the Flame the human wanted to test out his newly restored sword, prompting the blacksmith to escort him out while telling the princess to make herself at home.

FP had gone to the kitchen to make herself a hot drink, hoping to relieve some of the tension from the day. Now she sat staring into the Ancestral Flame, which had forgone its stature of a white blaze, returning to a peaceful orange. It made her think back to earlier, as she and Finn had been talking. The flame was obviously pushing them to spill their guts to each other, but why? And why did it only now react to the presence of the two teenagers rather than the man who had been protecting it all his life?

As the fire ruler contemplated this, her thoughts drifted back to Finn. She was very upset that she never finished her last sentence to him. It had been an important conversation, and one that may have changed a lot of things, only to be ruined when a certain fire elemental barged into the room.

FP scowled a little but instantly felt back about it. Ferrum was just doing what any citizen would, protect his queen, and for that matter a good friend as well. It wasn't his fault for blasting the Flame. The princess sighed and put down her mug, gazing once again at the ancient fire.

After a few minutes, the curtain covering the doorway was pulled aside and Ferrum walked in. He noticed his queen and carefully sat on the stone seat next to her. The fiery girl looked over and gave a quick smile, which the blacksmith returned.

"You doing ok princess?"

FP nodded. "Yes, thank you for the hospitality."

The man held up his hand. "No problem, you are after all the ruler of the whole place."

FP let out a sound to indicate she had heard him but continued to look toward the forge. Ferrum leaned forward, placing his forearms on his thighs and joining his hands.

"Listen, I'm…really sorry about um, interrupting you and Finn."

At this the princess turned her head. "Oh, it's alright, you were just concerned for our safety, there's no need to apologize."

The blacksmith frowned a little then turned his whole body to face the young girl.

"Princess, if I may ask, what was so important that you had to take leave from the palace just to come down to this poor little shop?"

Flame Princess looked to the ground in front of her. As even she had to obey the law of the kingdom, she felt there was no point in denying anything. She turned in her seat to face the fire elemental who wore a face of mixed concern and confusion.

"I guess that, I just couldn't wait any longer."

Ferrum's eyes widened a bit before he understood.

"You wanted to see Finn?"

FP nodded. "I know that in the past we decided to stay as friends but over the years feelings have been building up in him, the kind that prove he would sacrifice anything he could for me." She looked over to the Flame. "And I'm just now realizing that, I share that with him." She picked up her mug again and took another sip.

The blacksmith's face was morphed into one of understanding. He then looked at the hearth and smirked.

"Well, if I'm getting what you're saying, then let me be the first to say that if there was a way for Finn to safely walk around here, I'd be honored to have him as our king."

Flame Princess couldn't stop herself from spitting out the magma that had yet to slide down her throat. After coughing for a few seconds she turned to the man next to her with a shock on her now crimson face.

"What! Th-that's not what I meant!" Her attempted anger at the statement was unable to cover up the nervousness in her voice or the source of her red cheeks.

Ferrum held up his hands. "I'm just saying, I'd be ok with it, honestly."

FP continued to glare at him as he stood up and walked over to the Ancestral Flame.

"The kid's got a lot of potential, not to mention a heart that burns as strong as any fire elemental."

He turned to the princess, smiling.

"Wouldn't you agree?"

Flame Princess failed to keep up her fake expression, turning instead to a look of deep thought. She stood up and joined the man next to the Flame, placing a hand to her chest.

"Yes, I would."

The fiery young lady stared into the flames for a moment before turning to the blacksmith.

"If you could, please explain something to me."

The man nodded, waiting intently.

"While me and Finn were…talking, the Flame was able to temporarily remove his flame shield but at the same time it didn't burn him to ki-I mean, touch me."

Ferrum scratched his chin. "Well, it has been said that the Flame responds to intertwined hearts, perhaps that would explain why it kept surrounding the two of you." FP blushed slightly. "In all honesty I would have to guess that the Flame thinks you two were meant to be together, if I may say."

The princess just stared at him, thinking about his answer. Then the obvious thought came to her.

"Do you think that the Flame could permanently make Finn resistant to fire?" Her secret excitement peaked as the blacksmith thought it over. He then walked toward the Ancestral Flame.

"Let's ask it ourselves."

He plunged his hand into the orange ribbons, which instantly turned white once again, as did the flames jutting out of Ferrum's body. He waited a moment with his eyes closed. Then, he slowly turned his head to face FP, opening his sight.

"I'm sorry princess, but the Flame was only able to do that this once. Its intention was never to make Finn fire-proof, that is beyond even its power."

Just like that, the princess's excitement fell like a rock.

"All it wanted was to reassure the two of you that there is hope in staying together."

At the second statement the young ruler regrew a bit of happiness. _Even my distant creator wants us to be united and happy, how could I argue with that? _

"That's also why it…stabilized your elemental matrix?"

Flame Princess flushed scarlet again. She thanked Glob that the man didn't know why that was important. Although he raised an eyebrow Ferrum decided he had stepped over the line of privacy and removed his hand from the Flame, which resumed its normal state. He then walked back to the stone and took his seat.

"Believe me your majesty, I've been around the kingdom a lot more than you have. You'd be surprised how much respect and acceptance is shown to that human. Think about it."

The girl stood there, absorbing the man's words. Maybe he was right. On the other hand, Ferrum knew Finn on a personal level. The average Fire Kingdom citizen might not feel the same way. There had to be a way to know just how much her people cared for the presence of the young hero. Deciding to worry about it later, FP excused herself from the forge and walked through the curtain.

Following the sounds of metal against metal, the princess walked through several more doors until she was outside the back of the shop. Before her was Finn, practicing his sword combat against a metal suit that Ferrum had enchanted to fight the human. Although normally magical soldiers were mindless and clumsy fighters, this one had been infused with a cursed flame that was quite familiar with various tactics and stances, evidenced by how Finn was slowly being pushed back.

The flaming armor sent one final swing down upon the young man, who blocked it with his demon blade. He was struggling and Flame Princess could see it. But this was odd, the human's face seemed distracted, confused, somehow not fully with the battle at hand. The princess couldn't help but worry.

"Finn, just get away from that thing!"

Both combatants stared at the new arrival. Suddenly, the cursed suit released its pressure from Finn's blade and charged at the girl. On instinct, the elemental blasted a stream of fire at the sprinting foe. However, being made of unholy flame and metal, there was little effect on the enemy. It began raising its sword for a swing as Flame Princess covered her face with her arms in fear. As the metal fiend began bringing down the swing FP closed her eyes.

A deafening clang was heard in the air. One of the princess's golden pupils peeked at the sight before her. Finn's body was now in front of her like a shield, holding back the fiery warrior's deadly blade with his own.

"Get back you monster."

The gravity of Finn's voice shocked FP. She watched as the hero forced the cursed suit back several feet before swiftly charging at it, slicing it down the middle cleanly. He stood still as the demonic being of flames screamed and died, the ruin armor falling to the ground. After a moment, he turned back to Flame Princess and walked to her. For a second she thought the young man would be angry with her. Instead he pulled her in with his free arm for a quick embrace.

"Please, don't do that again."

His tone was blank, as if he were an empty being with no expression. As he released from the hug the fiery girl noticed his face revealed his true thoughts, a deep look of concern. With that, he quietly walked past her to reach for the door back into the shop. FP grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face her.

Before the human could question the action, his face was assaulted by the princess's. She immediately pushed her mouth to his while bringing her hands to his jawline. Finn's sword dropped to the ground with several loud clangs. He felt very little on his lips, the flame shield still vigilantly protecting his body. But the mere knowledge of how close the girl was to him was enough. His arms wrapped around FP's hips.

Even though he could not enjoy it, the human didn't want his princess to just stand there pressing her lips to his. He returned the kiss, hoping that he was making her happy, as was his sworn duty. Although his senses were limited Finn remembered how to move his mouth, allowing hers to continue deepening the moment. The human realized he didn't care in the least of the one-sided intimacy, for the sound of roaring yet controlled flames told him he was doing his job.

Finally, Flame Princess broke the connection, stepping back, sliding her hands down to the young man's shoulders. They both had a blank expression but their eyes sparkled as blue and gold mixed together in each other's gaze.

"I never got the chance to finish," the princess said in a whisper.

The human understood what she meant and continued to stare at the beautiful face in front of him.

"Finn, you've given everything for me, you gave me my life back, the chance to use my time as I see fit and use it wisely, and I can't think of any other way to spend it besides having you by my side through every struggle and joy."

Bright orange tears could be seen running down the girl's cheeks. The hero was frozen in place.

"Finn, I love you."

* * *

Silence.

Flame Princess waited for what seemed like an eternity for the human to answer back. Nothing of the sort happened. He made no sign of movement, or any sign of being more than a statue for that matter. FP became scared, a new wave of lava spilling from her eyes.

"Finn? What's wrong, why won't you say anything? Finn!"

She began shaking the hero desperately. He made no response. Finally the princess let go of his arms and backed away. He finally reacted, lowering his head until his face was barely visible.

"Finn! You're scaring me! Why can't you say something? Anything!" Tears were uncontrollable falling from the fiery girl's face. Confusion and disbelief was added to the mix of emotions swirling in her chest.

"Please, I've heard you say it, you said it as if you were standing right in front of me. Now that I'm here why can't you say it to my face!?"

Her hands covered her eyes as she continued to sob. How could he not say it? Was all that she heard a lie? Was the Ancestral Flame just toying with her? Had Ferrum been telling her a made up story? She couldn't take it, screaming her next sentence as flames jutted out of her.

"**Answer me right now!** **Finn the Human!**"

A quiet sizzling sound caught FP's attention, draining all the desperation from her mind. She looked at the ground just in front of the young man's feet. Small drops were hitting the ground before instantly evaporating. Flame Princess froze, watching Finn let his tears freely drip out of his ducts. As if weights were tied to his feet, the young man stumbled ever so slowly forward. At first it appeared as if his target was the shaking princess who wouldn't dare take her eyes off him, but instead, he brushed past her shoulder, stopping just after he was out of her sight (her neck refused to move, as did the rest of her body). Finn's hand reached into his pocket and drew out a small stone, which he promptly pushed into FP's hand. Oddly enough, her fingers closed around the object as if they worked separately from their owner.

With this, he darted away from the shop, out of sight within seconds. Flame Princess's body finally listened to her and raised her hand containing the rock. She gasped through her sobbing. It was the same piece of earth that she and Finn had used to kiss that fateful day. In addition to the slight burn from her lips there was another prominent feature. Words had been etched into the surface:

**YOU DON'T DESERVE HER**

Wrapped in a second wave of despair, the princess felt another etching on the opposite side. Turning it over revealed more writing:

**REMEMBER THE TRIAL -F**

F. Following this letter was a symbol she recognized. It was the same one on the front of the blacksmith shop. Fueled by the sheer desire to understand, Flame Princess made her way to the door and back through the shop. As she made it to the main room the lava pouring from her eyes reacted poorly with the raw metals still littering the floor, sizzling and deforming. Instead of pushing aside the curtain leading to the forge the princess raised her temperature and incinerated it.

Ferrum looked up abruptly while working on reconditioning a spear, his expression one of shock, not at the loss of the fabric covering the doorway but of the horrible condition his queen was in. Two pools of hardening molten rock were forming at her feet, her eyes had turned a light brown, drained of their golden glow, her bottom lip viciously bitten down on and trembling. Her entire face was contorted into a state of absolute misery.

"Oh my Gob, what happened to you!?"

Flame Princess struggled to hold up the rock still clutched in her hand. Ferrum looked closer.

"Tell me, what does this mean?" the dimming girl sputtered. It was easy to see she was having trouble standing.

Ferrum's eyes widened as he finally identified the stone.

"I-I, I'm sorry, Finn and I swore to nev-"

His words were cut off as a fiery hand grabbed him and slammed him against the wall behind him, knocking down all the equipment hanging from it. The Ancestral Flame turned a bland yellow and shrank significantly, either afraid or saddened, both were probable. Flame Princess increased her grip on the blacksmith's neck, making him struggle to breath.

"**I'm ordering you to tell me what this is or I swear I'll tear you apart piece by piece!"**

Ferrum was terrified and broken at the same time. On one hand he feared for his life at the hands of the hurt and angered fire girl, on the other it pained him to see such a beloved ruler having an emotional breakdown. He gave in, no secret was worth the trauma that was being inflicted on the poor princess.

"Alright, I'll tell you."

FP stood back, releasing the man. He in turn got up and calmly walked to the small safe he had in the corner of the room. He kneeled down and began twisting the large numbered gear on the front. It clicked and he swung open the door. After reaching inside, he pulled out a small yellow orb that appeared to be made of glass. Within the orb floated the image of a mysterious building, circular by design but ancient in origin.

Ferrum walked back to the princess and held the orb in both hands. Before she could ask, he threw the sphere on the ground, shattering it with a sharp crack. A strange aura drifted out of the remains and immediately floated into Ferrum's forehead. The elemental flinched and twitched before regaining his composure and looking the princess in the eyes.

"Many months ago, me and Finn discovered an old text, referring to a mystical fortress that existed in the free space of the multiverse, The Citadel of Truth."

Flame Princess did her best to listen carefully, not wanting to miss a single detail.

"It was told that entering this ancient relic would grant the traveler their one greatest desire, but only if you could make it inside."

Ferrum leaned against the work table, now staring at the quiet Flame.

"To enter the citadel each journeyer must face a trial, controlled by the citadel's guardian. After weeks of research the two of us found a permanent link to the multiverse buried deep within a mountain cave of the Fire Kingdom. Using what we learned, we found the Citadel."

A look of unpleasantness crossed the fire elemental, who took a short pause to reflect.

"Finn was determined and challenged the guardian, who began his trial."

The further the story went on the harder it was for the blacksmith to continue.

"Finn's trial was to spend 10 minutes in an isolated temporal dimension, if he stayed in the whole time, he would be able to enter the fortress."

Ferrum took a hand and placed his fingers on his forehead.

"What we didn't know was that 10 minutes on the outside accounted for 800 years inside the dimension."

FP's face changed to a look of horror as she brought her hand to her gaping mouth.

"Finn's body was encased in a temporal constant; he didn't age, eat, drink, or sleep. After a short time the guardian heard Finn's cry of defeat and removed him from the prison. It had not been 10 minutes and Finn looked like a defenseless toddler, shivering on the ground with his body curled up. He had remained in the temporal distortion for 712 years."

The ruler of the Fire Kingdom fell to her knees, attempting to imagine the sheer emptiness that the human had experienced, but she was more likely to reach up and touch the sun.

"As a sign of pity, the guardian wiped Finn's memory of the event, leaving only the fact that he came so close but failed, failed to get what he truly desired. Finn in turn locked his failure in his mental vault, never to torture himself again unless he examined that object you now hold in your hands."

Flame Princess lowered her gaze to the rock in her hands, rereading the etchings in its surface. Ferrum came to her side and helped her into a stone seat. He sat opposite her, a look of defeat upon his face.

"I'm sorry princess, I respected Finn enough to keep this buried, but I suppose he decided you should finally know. I should have guessed this was why he was in such a depression."

Out of tears, FP sat in silence, gently rubbing the stone in her hands.

"That's why, he couldn't bear to hear me say it." Her words were fractured, as if every syllable was a pain to sound out.

Ferrum looked at the queen with concern. "And what was that?"

The young fire elemental pressed the stone against her heart, which was beating unregularly slow.

"That I love him."

Before Ferrum could reply, an explosion in the distance filled the air, followed by what felt like an earthquake, shaking off what little merchandise remained on the walls. The two fire elementals stood up and hurried outside to the front of the shop. Citizens were running and screaming in all directions. Looking around, Ferrum pointed to the distant flame palace. Smoke was billowing out of one side as the walls were slowly crumbling. Out of the wreckage emerged an enormous creature that flew up into the air, exposing an excessively long body that glimmered in the reflection of the surrounding lava as it began circling the ruined palace. A few seconds later the creature blew an inferno of flames onto the structure.

Even from a distance the blacksmith and princess could see the very foundation shake from the force of the fire.

"Oh Grob, a crystal dragon! We've got to defend the kingdom your majesty."

Ferrum motioned for FP to follow, which she did after a final glance at the devastation before her.

Back inside the shop, Ferrum began outfitting himself with flame armor and picked out several weapons from his own private stash. He then looked to the princess, who was nervously standing in the middle of the room.

"My queen, can you fight?"

Flame Princess looked at the ground, still in a state of upset.

"With the state of my emotions I won't be able to do a thing against that monster."

The blacksmith thought for a moment before walking to the forge room, again directing his ruler to follow suite. Back to the hearth, the Ancestral Flame was back to its normal form. The two elementals stopped in front of the divine fire, only for Ferrum to turn to face FP.

"Maybe your power might not be enough, but what if you used this power?" He gestured to the Flame.

Astonished, the fiery girl looked to the flame, which sent out a stray lick of orange ribbons, beckoning the princess to accept the offer. FP nodded.

"For the kingdom."

She walked up to the hearth, which opened up the wall of flames, welcoming the elemental. After a deep breath, FP stepped into the blaze, turning the fires pure white as they swirled into a massive vortex of heat and energy. The Flame began to shrink, bonding to its host, sharing its ancient might.

After a few moments a bright flash filled the room, blinding Ferrum momentarily. When he regained his vision he was in awe of the spectacle. Flame Princess's cloak had been removed, replaced with a gorgeous and slim white dress that neatly complimented her glowing skin and re-ignited golden eyes. Her hair had been left to flow freely in long strands that fell against her back. The gem on her forehead had a silvery gleam about its polished edges, while an intricate white tiara sat upon her head.

Stepping out of the now empty hearth, Flame Princess held up her balled fists, generating blue orbs of flame that emitted astronomical levels of heat. Her face still showed the existence of her heartbreak from earlier but was mainly replaced with a look of solemn determination.

"I will take full advantage of what you and Finn gave me, let's go, our kingdom needs us."

With that, the Princess of Flames shot out of the roof of the blacksmith shop at high speed, tightly gripping the arms of the fully armed Ferrum she was carrying. As the duo approached the fire palace, the vicious transparent dragon let out a tremendous roar, facing the incoming challengers.

* * *

**_This chapter was REALLY hard to write, mostly because we're moving on from the mushy stuff and getting serious. I'll still, take any form of comment or review. It's important for you guys to tell me what I'm doing badly (or well)._**

**_Also, just to make things a bit fun I'll start posting the name of the next chapter at the end of each one just so you can have some fun guessing while I write the darn thing. Later._**

**_Next: _**Chapter 5: Man of the People


	5. Chapter 5: Man of the People

Chapter 5: Man of the People

Another blast destroyed the nearby guard tower, sending the structure plummeting into the lava below. Yet another struck the disfigured fire palace. A massive crystalline tail swung with immense force, slamming into a shield made of elegant blue flames. The force, however, was too much for its wielder to bear and the female fire elemental was thrown backwards, striking the ground with excessive force.

Flame Princess cried out in pain. She felt like her spine had shattered. Moments later, the divine fire within her numbed the area on her back, allowing her to stand up without screaming from the potential internal damage. Looking back at the palace, she witnessed the dragon smash apart more and more of her home, each swing of its crystal body sending dangerous shards of hardened volcanic rock flying everywhere.

She saw the Fire Kingdom's soldiers, desperately trying to take down the beast with flaming arrows and catapults. Their projectiles had little effect. The dragon simply let out a violent breath of flames from its maw, obliterating the artillery and sending the archers into a frenzy.

Ferrum was seen evacuating staff from what was left of the palace interior, his face was calm, the sign of a hardened and dedicated fighter. Flame Princess had the growing suspicion that he once served in the military.

Taking a deep breath, the fiery ruler closed her eyes.

_Come on, I need to focus, I need to use the Flame's power._

She swiftly shot into the air, holding her hand out toward the lake of molten rock. A large mass of the substance floated out of the lava and began to take shape, forming an enormous hammer. The substance quickly cooled, hardening and becoming a solid object. FP clenched her fist, willing the newly forged rock to cycle through hot and cold, tempering the mineral and making the weapon harder and harder. Finally, using the enhanced mental control of fire that the Ancestral Flame bestowed, the princess made her way to the dragon that was still assaulting her kingdom.

Unaware of her presence, the monster didn't have time to react as FP slammed the beast square in the face with her weapon. Following a pained groan, the massive lizard was harshly thrown into the side of a nearby mountain from the force of the blow. Feeling a rush of success, Flame Princess lowered her guard to take a breath as a cloud of dust and dirt surrounded the impact zone. It was short lived as a stream of flames erupted from the mass of earthly fog, catching the elemental in its path. The young ruler could do little besides try to block the blast with her hammer, only to have it disintegrate and shatter. Even after that, the dragon's deadly breath made contact with the girl, once more throwing her back.

Thinking that whatever she hit would be the end, the princess closed her eyes. Instead however, a strong body enveloped her, halting the perishing flight she was experiencing. Ferrum grunted from having to reduce his majesty's speed so suddenly but better that than having her unconscious, or worse. Before the recovering dragon could target them again, he sprinted away, finding shelter behind a barricade the fire army had put together. FP was barely breathing but thanked the blacksmith as he set her down.

"You've got to stay here and rest princess, me and the others will find a way to stop this."

With that the elemental hopped back over the barricade to rejoin the soldiers. Flame Princess held up her hands, a few tears were forming in her gaze.

_Even with the Flame I couldn't do anything, why am I always so helpless?_

She wrapped her arms around herself and pinched together her eyes.

_Finn…I need you._

* * *

Screams were heard as soldiers fled from the overwhelming might of the enemy, which had resumed its demolition of the fire palace. Ferrum examined the beast's face. A massive system of cracks had been formed around its right eye, proving that while his queen had only managed one strike it had dealt a significant amount of damage.

_Now if we can just get a solid hit on that weakened skin this thing might fall apart._

Ferrum looked around for anyone who could help him get near the beast, but to his disappointment they were all occupied with either evacuation or stalling the monster. It was clear they had shifted tactics to retreat. Cursing under his breath, the blacksmith absentmindedly charged forward, jumping through the ruins of the palace, climbing higher and higher to reach his target.

As the dragon performed its next tail swipe against the building, Ferrum took his chance and drew his sword, leaping onto the massive extremity and digging his blade under one of the huge crystal scales. The beast didn't notice and continued the barrage while the fire elemental struggled to climb up the creature's body. At last he reached the top of its head, pulling out his secondary sword and jamming it into its skin as well. He closed his eyes and calmed his senses, breathing in and out to focus and steady his next action.

Finding the split second to strike, he leapt forward as the dragon reared its head for another blast of fire, only to have two dragon scale weapons plunged into its right eye. An awful roar filled the air as Ferrum desperately used one of his swords to stab the oculus repeatedly while the other remained firmly it the pupil.

Before he knew it, a shadow closed in on him, followed by the crushing force of the beast's crystal claw, which wrapped around his body attempting to pull him off. Realizing he could only hold on for a few more moments, Ferrum reacted quickly, placing his open palm against the sword jammed deep in the eye. A few seconds later a crackling burst of orange electricity shot through the weapon, slowly morphing its appearance.

From the ground, the majority of the remaining fire army was watching in amazement at the battle between the dragon and the blacksmith. As the energy from Ferrum's most recent action sent out a wave of orange, several of the soldiers gasped. The captain stepped forward in disbelief.

"By Grod, the man can use alchemy!"

Ferrum held on as long as he could while his sword developed wicked hooks all along its blade, still within the dragon's pupil. Releasing his secondary sword, the blacksmith used his second hand to transmute the handle of his primary weapon, stretching and bending it to wrap around his forearm. He yelled furiously at the monster.

"Either you lose me, or you lose your eye!"

The creature appeared to be undeterred, ripping the fire elemental off of its face, along with the vandalized sphere that was its eye. An ear splitting screech filled the air as the beast held its claws to the empty socket that used to hold half of its sight. Ferrum was thrown with overwhelming force, stuck to the round crystal and his weapon.

"Damn!" he breathed as he attempted to release his hand. Electricity surrounded the grip of the blade, uncoiling itself from his arm.

As his body was freed from the sphere, the sheer force of the wind threw him off the hurling orb. Desperately looking around, Ferrum spotted a cliff in the wake of his free-fall. Using as much trajectory as his form could muster, he angled himself at the rock face, painfully slamming into the volcanic stone. At that moment he wished he had kept his sword, for his hands offered little leverage to stay clung to the mountain. As he began to slip, the blacksmith gave several tries to reach the edge of the cliff that was a few mere feet above him. He was surprised when one such reach was met with a firm hand.

Astounded, Ferrum allowed himself to be pulled up, not daring to release the hold on his savior. As solid ground approached, he grasped the edge with his free arm to help lighten the weight for the rescuer. Once more on flat land, Ferrum looked up to see who had helped him escape certain death. There before him stood a tall fire elemental, wearing heavy armor of volcanic rock, a flame sword at his side, giving a victorious grin.

"Looks like we got here just in time," he said before helping the blacksmith stand up.

"Who are you?" Ferrum asked.

The man smirked again then turned to walk away, revealing that behind him was an entire platoon of elite fire soldiers. The blacksmith gasped. The whole front line consisted of gigantic crossbows, with soldiers loaded into their holders.

"You probably wouldn't know me, but you definitely know my sister, and for your sake I hope you kept her somewhere safe, otherwise you'll be answering not only to me, but to Finn too."

At this information the young man's eyes grew wide. He knew exactly who stood before him. The fiery soldier turned back to face the palace, where the infernal dragon was still recovering from its injury. The elemental raised his arm straight in the air then suddenly brought it down in front of him.

"Pull!"

The soldiers arming the crossbows released the tension, flinging the elite warriors atop them at incredible speeds toward the enemy. Still disoriented, the crystal monster didn't notice as the flying elementals untied the rope that was around their waists. Using their flames, the group then lit the binds on fire before tucking themselves in to aim at the dragon. With perfect synchronization, the team moved close together in the air and crossed their ropes, forming a blazing net. As the fire beings flew past the dragon, it had no time to react to the irresistible pull of the trap they had assembled.

With a final roar, the beast fell to the ground, unleashing a tremor that rocked the remaining buildings. From a distance, the captain looked through his binoculars at the result of his men's assault.

"Heh, you've got to admit, Finn gives great tactics for fighting giant monsters."

Ferrum smiled. "Yeah."

FP struggled with a piece of rubble that was nearly crushing her. The quake that happened moments ago had given her quite the jolt. Finally, the rock budged and the princess released herself from its hold. Tired and beaten, the ruler limped past the destroyed barricade where Ferrum had left her. There was still a large amount of dust in the air, making visibility a problem. Unknowingly, the girl bumped into an incredible hard object that was also very large. Rubbing her head, she took a step back to try to identify it. The only response to this act was a low growl, which quickly rose in intensity.

Out of nowhere, a devastating roar wiped away the dust and dirt in the air, revealing the defeated dragon in its place. FP was frozen in fear, unable to find the strength to either back away or blast the beast with fire. The fire soldiers spotted the princess but it was too late. Time stood still as the dragon sent its open jaws straight at the defenseless girl who had fallen to her knees.

_This is the end, killed after being beaten both physically and emotionally. The way it always was meant for a worthless princess like me._

The next sound that entered Flame Princess's ear was in fact the tearing of flesh, but amazingly enough, it wasn't hers. Although scared, she dared to open her eyes, only to notice a familiar form in front of her.

"Finn!"

The human's left arm was holding back the rest of the dragon's fangs, trembling heavily, due to the massive tooth sunk into his shoulder. His right arm was extended into the monster's mouth, piercing the roof of its mouth with the demon blood sword. A large amount of blood was spilling from the young man's wound. Finally, his left arm collapsed, unable to function without the red fluid in his veins. He turned his head to look at FP, his face riddled with no emotion but concern. The princess in turn began crying.

"Why did you come back?"

The human began losing consciousness from the blood loss as the dragon retracted its bite due to the pain in its mouth. The young man fell into the fiery girl's arms, struggling to keep his eyes open. A smile took shape on his lips.

"No matter what happens, I would never abandon you or your home, because Finn, the hero of Ooo is not my most treasured title."

Flame Princess attempted to stop her tears, which were falling onto the human's chest.

"The one I hold dearest to my heart is Finn, protector of the Fire Kingdom."

FP embraced the one she loved, sobbing into the crook of his neck. It was only when Finn gently pulled her back that she regained her senses and stared into the young man's eyes. He was still smiling.

"You look so beautiful with that new look, I'll thank Glob that it's the last thing I see."

The princess buried her head into the human's chest.

"No, no, no! You'll be ok Finn, I can get help." She felt Finn's hand on her cheek and brought up her chin to face him. His grip on reality was fading fast.

"I know that I'm a huge donkus for waiting until I'm about to bleed out to say this but, I wouldn't want to leave on any other note."

He pulled FP's face closer while also tilting his head forward. He planted a firm yet gentle kiss on the girl's lips before breaking their connection. He barely felt a thing, but that was for her, not him.

"I love you too, Flame Princess."

His blue eyes disappeared behind closed lids.

Never had the ruler of the Fire Kingdom cried so much in her life. She sat there on the ground, cradling her hero in her arms. In the meantime, the crystal dragon reeled back for one final strike to end the couple's existence. As the jaws closed in, FP sensed the danger from the back of her mind. She slowly looked up at the dragon's approaching maw. There was no fear in her wet eyes, only the desperation to find help for Finn.

Without so much as a movement, Flame Princes closed her eyes and began to glow brightly. The second the beast's teeth were upon them, a towering inferno of white flames shot out of the fiery girl, spearing the monster through the upper part of its head. The flames climbed to well past the highest point in the kingdom, disappearing into the sky above. As the fires faded into the air, all who were present were astonished by the effects. A massive hole was left in the dragon's skull, all matter within the flames had been completely vaporized. The beast's body slowly toppled to the ground for the last time.

The remains of the fire army gathered around their queen, Ferrum and the captain arrived soon afterwards. The two men hurried to the couple's side, supporting them both with their arms. The captain looked at FP with concern.

"Sister, are you alright?"

The princess looked at her older brother with a face full of anguish.

"Please, just help Finn."

The man had no idea what to do. Treating a fire elemental would be simple but the kingdom wasn't prepared to deal with a human's injuries. He simply looked at Ferrum with a pleading look.

"Isn't there anything you could do?"

The blacksmith lowered his head. He thought hard. If no ideas came up soon they might just lose the two most important people in the kingdom. He looked at his hands, bruised and cut from fighting the dragon. He clenched them into fists then placed a hand to his heart. The beat was steady and strong. The man kneeled down and placed his palm upon the human's own heart. It was weak and erratic.

"There is, one way," he began.

Everyone looked to the blacksmith.

"But, it's forbidden among alchemists."

FP looked at the man, still leaking lava out of her eyes.

"Please, at least tell me what it is."

Ferrum looked back into his queen's desperate eyes.

"I can transmute my life energy into Finn, effectively giving his body the strength is needs."

Both the princess and the captain gasped. FP began shaking her head.

"No, you can't just trade life like that, no someone like you."

The blacksmith looked at Finn's motionless form. The fest of the fire army and citizens gathered bowed their heads in sadness. Out of nowhere suddenly, a labored stomping was heard. All turned to see who it was. Before the form revealed itself, a powerful voice spoke up.

"Then take mine."

The Flame King stepped out of the shadows of some rubble, holding his side which was apparently injured. The soldiers and citizens gasped. FP shot up her head to face her father.

"Wha-what?" She was shocked.

The former ruler of the Fire Kingdom struggled over to the small group around Finn and stopped several feet away. He put his other hand on his chest.

"I'll give up my own life energy, go ahead and take it. It's better than spending the rest of my days in a lantern."

Flame Princess grew blue flames around her body and glared at the large man before her.

"Like you would ever do something so selfless in your life! What's your game father? If you managed to escape the lantern during the attack why didn't you just run away like the coward you are?"

The former king lowered his gaze to the ground.

"If I am to truly lose my life, then this is the prefect way for me to apologize to your mother."

FP froze, her intimidating flames retreating into her body. Flame King looked over to Ferrum.

"Alchemist, please perform the transmutation, it is my time."

The blacksmith looked to his ruler for guidance. She just stared at him for a moment before lowering her head and giving a slight nod. Ferrum stepped between the two targets of the coming reaction and put his hands together. After a deep breath, he flung his arms out and used his flames to draw an intricate circle of alchemic runes around him, then proceeded to craft two more around Finn and Flame King. Finally, he connected all three. After the circles were drawn he kneeled down and placed his palm to the ground dead center of his circle. Orange electricity began crackling around his open hand, causing all three shapes to light up with the same color. High levels of energy began to fluctuate as Ferrum added his second hand to the circle.

The Flame King felt himself being drained. He looked over to his daughter, who was anxiously waiting to see what would happen. Her eyes caught her father's. The former ruler's final look was one of pride. He beamed at his successor, startling her.

"After I'm gone, if you want to know the truth, ask the Flame."

FP just looked on as her dad's flames began to shrink, eventually not being able to hold up his heavy copper armor. The metal suit clanged to the ground as the final wisps of Flame King's essence disappeared. On the opposite end, the princess felt Finn's body heat begin to increase. She placed her hand to his chest. A heartbeat was growing stronger by the second.

Another minute later the human's breathing returned, steadying itself as the hero's life force was restored.

Ferrum took a knee as the alchemic reaction completed itself. His panting revealed the amount of strength it took for him to complete such a powerful spell. The man tilted his head up to watch the couple on the ground. The rest of the kingdom's inhabitants joined in.

Ever so slowly, Finn's eyelids began to move, once more presenting his deep blue eyes to the world. As he readjusted his vision by blinking a few times he began looking around to establish where he was. He stopped when his pupils met with Flame Princess's. As with every other time, their sights melted together, unable to break away from each other's hypnotic pull. It was FP who spoke first, a smile appeared on her face as a few stray tears continued down her cheeks.

"What do you say we try it again, this time like any normal couple would?"

Finn smiled as well.

"Alright, should you start or me?"

Flame Princess ran her hand through the several strands of hair that had escaped the hero's hat.

"I think it's your turn."

A small chuckle was let out from the human.

"Alright then." He raised his head and pecked the girl on the cheek before withdrawing.

"I love you FP."

The princess placed her forehead against his, closing her eyes.

"I love you too Finn."

With that done, the young man closed his eyes to rest, the smile still present on his features. Flame Princess's brother walked over and rested his hand on his sister's shoulder. He smiled down to her and she returned the same. He then turned his gaze to where the Flame King once stood, now just a pile of ash and metal. FP followed his sight. Both had a somewhat saddened look on their faces.

"It's really a shame," The princess's brother said.

"If only the king was a little more like Finn."

FP was jolted by the memory of what Ferrum had said earlier.

_You'd be surprised how much respect and acceptance is shown to that human._

She studied the sleeping form of the hero in her arms.

"Yeah, a king like Finn."

* * *

Satisfied with the devastation and chaos inflicted on the Fire Kingdom, a dark figure left his perch on a high mountain peak and fearlessly jumped into the air. Before he plummeted to close to the lava below, he instantly vanished in a flash of 'black light'. He reappeared at the edge of the fire palace, well, what was left of it. He carefully walked through what used to be the front gate and proceeded through the destroyed hallway leading to the throne room.

Once there, he walked to the pile of glass shards that used to be the lantern imprisoning Flame King. The man carefully looked around the scattered yellow fragments before he found what he was looking for, one of the red gems from the former king's suit, having fallen off during his escape. Picking up the gem, the man held up his hand and swiped the air a few times. The actions of his gestures somehow cut away into the gem, leaving only a fragment as the other bits fell back to the floor.

The dark being stared at the ruby momentarily.

"Hm, honor and regret are unfortunately present in this one, however small it may be."

He then placed the gem piece in his pitch black robe.

"It matters not, the shard holds true evil to some degree."

With that, the man vanished in another black flash. Leaving the smoking palace in silence.

"One down, two more to go."

* * *

_**Moving along nicely. Please continue reviewing. Thanks guys.**_

_**next:** _Chapter 6: Resolve and Rebuild


	6. Chapter 6: Resolve and Rebuild

Chapter 6: Resolve and Rebuild

Several teams of fire golems were busy hauling volcanic rock to the areas that needed repairs. Once one of them reached its destination, it vomited out boiling magma, using the molten rock to seal the structures like glue. It had been going on like this all night while the rest of the Fire Kingdom slept, well, most of it.

Finn watched the tireless work of the massive golems, every once in a while chuckling at how gross their method of fixing was. The human was leaning on the edge of a balcony at the fire palace. Obviously it was the first building to be rebuilt, although only the most crucial parts had been reconstructed so far. The night sky was truly spectacular. The normal ash clouds that enveloped the kingdom had dissipated, leaving a wondrous view of the starry sky.

The young man was so captivated that he didn't notice Flame Princess walking up behind him. He was a bit startled when he felt her warm arms slide around to his chest as she hugged him from behind. Finn smiled as the fiery girl pressed her face against his back.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey," the hero replied.

FP came up next to him, allowing the human to wrap his arm around her shoulders as she joined in leaning on the stone edge. They both stared at the twinkling lights above, lost in thought. The fire elemental decided that while the silence was nice she wanted to have conversation.

"So Finn, I wanted to ask you something." She pulled the stone from their kiss out of her dress and placed it on the balcony ledge in front of the young man, who stared down at it.

"What made you change your mind?"

Finn sighed a little before cracking an amused smile.

"Believe it or not, it's because of your brother."

FP raised an eyebrow. The human laughed as he relived the story.

"No wanting to break the rules, I had to tell him the truth when he asked after I bumped into him. He punched me in the stomach so hard I almost lost my lunch, and I had a **really **good lunch."

Finn started turning the stone in his hands.

"He yelled at me for about five minutes afterward explaining how much you cared for me and how if I didn't find you and tell you my real feelings he would slice me apart."

The princess appeared a little shocked at the tale. Before she could question her brother's brutality however, Finn had taken her hand in his.

"But, that's not the only reason."

He stared at his princess with a slightly worried expression.

"Did Ferrum tell you about, the Citadel?"

FP nodded, remembering the horrific story.

"I don't know how you'd react to this but, I want to go back there, to try again."

The flaming girl's eyes widened with astonishment. She put her hands on the hero's cheeks.

"Finn no! It's not worth it to go through that kind of torture, you'd be spending 800 years alone in empty space."

The human studied her face before turning back to watch the lava golems work.

"Of course it's worth it, my one desire…" he twisted his neck to look the princess deeply in the eyes.

"…is to have nothing standing between me and you."

FP stood there. After a moment, tears began to well up, as she fired herself into Finn's chest. The embrace was both loving and scared. Lava was pouring down Finn's flame shielded shirt. He placed his hands around his lady's back, holding her close. Flame Princess raised her head to look at him once again.

"But why like this? There has to be another way."

Finn stroked the beautiful locks of red hair on the girl's head, reassuring her.

"We've looked FP, there is no other way. And once it's over I can live as close to you as you want."

He smiled. The princess loved that look of confidence, it gave her hope and security.

FP let go of Finn and walked off a few feet, looking down at the floor with her hands held together in front of her.

"Finn, if you're really going to do this, then take me with you."

The hero was taken aback.

"Why do you want to come?"

The girl turned to him, a serious look in her face.

"Because I want to be the last and first thing you see while challenging the trial."

Finn stepped away from the edge, standing up straight and listening intently.

"I want to give you as much hope as possible to last all those centuries, to keep you company by just knowing that no matter how insane the distorted dimension is, in reality I'm right there next to you, waiting for you to come out when you've beaten the test."

The human walked up to the girl he loved and took her hands.

"That means a lot FP."

Flame Princess gave a warm smile.

"Well what did you expect? I do love you you know."

Finn held the fiery ruler to his chest.

"And I love you."

They held the hug for a few minutes before the young man heard a yawn. He let go of FP and saw the drowsy expression on her face. It was hard not to laugh a bit.

"Come on, I'll take you to your room."

A sleepy smile formed on the girl's lips.

"Could you carry me there?"

A wide grin couldn't be helped. She had that innocent and sweet look that the hero just couldn't resist.

"How is it that you can be both the softest and the toughest girl I've ever met?"

FP gave a small giggle as Finn picked her up bridal style and turned to walk inside the castle. Walking through the hallways, the human remembered a question he had earlier.

"So, what about the Ancestral Flame? Doesn't Ferrum like, need it back?"

Although almost asleep, the princess had kept herself awake just so she could consciously tell that the young man had her in his arms.

"Well, funny story. The Flame has apparently bonded pretty strongly with me and he said it may be difficult to separate from my body. So to make his job a little easier I just made him one of my personal bodyguards."

Finn was pleasantly surprised at this news.

"Wow, that's so math. He totally deserves it."

They had made it to the princess's room and the hero kicked open the door.

"Careful, they just reattached that."

"Oops, sorry, bad habit."

The young man strolled up to FP's bed and gently laid her down on her back, taking a seat next to her. She peacefully put her hands across her abdomen and looked into the hero's blue eyes.

"Finn, I know that it's not really fair to you but…could I have one more before going to sleep?"

The human's smile was so warm she could swear she could feel it on her face, because at that very moment, Finn's mouth had made contact with hers, forming itself to give the girl a sweet kiss goodnight. It held for a few seconds until the young man pulled away.

"Knowing how happy you are when I do it is more than enough for me."

He ran his fingers through the elemental's streaming red hair while she beamed with joy.

"Goodnight FP, I love you."

He stood up from the bed and took a final glance into the glowing face of the princess.

"Goodnight Finn, I love you too."

With that, he quietly walked out of the room and shut the door with absolute care so as to not make the slightest sound. Flame Princess was honestly a little sad to see him go. Even though she knew he would be staying the night a few rooms down it felt lonely knowing he was so close yet so far away.

_Someday, we can fall asleep cuddling together._

The young queen slipped into her dreams, imagining the very desire she had moments ago pictured.

* * *

Finn felt a painful smack hit his head, instantly waking him up. It wasn't exactly an attack, otherwise the assailant would have done a much better job to hurt the young man. Still though, it was irritating and stung.

"Ouch! What the Bjork man?"

Opening his eyes and rubbing his forehead, the human saw Cinnamon Bun standing beside his bed.

"Hi," the living pastry said in monotone.

Finn sat up and brought his legs over to the ground.

"What was that for CB?"

The candy person shook his staff.

"Don't you remember Finn, you told me to wake you up at uh…when the sun opens its eye."

The hero raised an eyebrow, only to remember how half-baked the guy was. He fully stood and stretched out his arms and legs, followed by cracking his back (he had slept on a bed of solid rock, literally).

"Oh yeah, thanks Cinnamon Bun, but next time just shake me till I wake up ok?"

The pastry looked at him with a blank face but eventually gave a toothy smile.

"Ok."

He walked out.

Finn stepped over to the small window in the room, gazing out into the early morning of the Fire Kingdom. The lava golems had never stopped working and the place was really starting to come back together, so to speak (too many puns). The young man walked back to the bedside and picked up his pack, putting it on as he exited the room.

The hallways were bustling with repair teams, eagerly trying to fix the damages as quickly as possible. As the human passed them by, many of them greeted him and shook his hand. It took the poor boy nearly half an hour to get to the throne room, which was being remodeled. The only not workers there were Cinnamon Bun and FP's other cousin Torcho, who was trying to make decent conversation with the candy person.

As Finn walked up, the two noticed him and the fire elemental gave him a smile.

"Finn! It's good to see you."

He held out his hand. The human was genuinely shocked. Had the prince really forgotten all about the ruined assassination attempt?

"Hey Torcho, nice to see you too."

After shaking hands the young prince led him aside while CB started playing with his fire wolf.

"Listen Finn, I just want you to know there are no hard feelings about that day several years ago, I know you were just worried about Flame Princess losing her dad."

The hero felt a wave of relief. He had been forgiven.

"And don't worry about my brother, he feels the same, he's just too proud to admit it. Just like he was too proud to admit he was hiding in a closet while the dragon was tearing apart the castle."

At this they both had a laugh. Finn then placed a hand on the prince's shoulder.

"Thanks Torcho, I'm honored to have you as a friend."

The fire elemental grinned.

"And I'll be honored to have you as a cousin-in-law one day."

As the flame being bellowed with laughter Finn felt his face redden. Did the whole freaking kingdom want them together or something?

"Heh, yeah, sure. Hey could you tell FP when she wakes up that I left early to say bye to Ferrum?

Torcho calmed down and looked back at Finn.

"Of course, he's still at his shop packing up to move into his new quarters at the palace."

The hero thanked the prince and walked toward the front gate leading to the rest of the kingdom.

* * *

Ferrum picked up another battle ax and tapped its blade with his finger. He then tossed it aside and looked around for more merchandise. As he bent down to pick up a heavy looking shield there was a knock at the door. Sighing, the fire elemental went to the rock slab and pushed it aside, revealing the smiling face of Finn.

"Morning Ferrum, how are you doing over here?"

The blacksmith welcomed the young man in and let out another sigh.

"Taking inventory is a pain in the butt. I've been up almost all night packing up, but hey, it's worth it."

He turned to face the human.

"I mean, isn't it better to have **two **people protecting the Flame with their lives?"

He smirked while Finn attempted to brush off the slight crimson tint on his cheeks.

"You want some help before I head out?" he asked with sincerity.

Ferrum sifted through a pile of raw metals while responding.

"Na I'm good, I requested some palace servants to come help in a little bit."

He turned his head to look at Finn again.

"Before you leave though, there's a little something I wanted to give you."

The hero was intrigued and followed the fire elemental to the back room, where the forge still stood, dark and cold from the absence of the Ancestral Flame. A few candles were lighting the work table, where the blacksmith stepped over to and began searching through several shelves. He finally found what he was looking for and strolled over to Finn, holding out a small box to him.

The human accepted the object curiously, then looked at Ferrum with a questioning look.

"For when the time comes," he stated with a smile.

Confused, the young man opened the box and was astonished at the contents. A golden ring with intricate, microscopic fire runes engraved into the surface. At its crest, a shimmering emerald cut into an eccentric diamond shape. Finn looked closely at the words imprinted into the metal band. The Ancestral Flame had granted him a translation cipher, allowing him to read ancient fire language.

**Not even nature shall break this bond**

The hero smiled, looking back at Ferrum with both admiration and appreciation. Before the blacksmith could react, Finn had pulled him into a 'bro hug', patting his fiery friend on the back.

"Thanks man, I owe you, a lot."

Even though he was surprised, the fire elemental simply sighed with amusement and returned the gesture.

"No problem man."

As Finn stepped back, the man noticed a hint of worry in the hero's face.

"There something else you wanted to say?" He crossed his arms, leaning on the table behind him.

Finn placed the box into his pack and looked at the ground hard.

"I'm going back."

Ferrum raised an eyebrow. The young man looked him in the eye.

"I'm going back to the Citadel."

The fire elemental froze in shock. Memories flooded in, the helpless form of Finn lying on the ground, his mind utterly driven mad. He shook the thoughts out and took a step toward his friend.

"What?! That's insane! The last time you would've been left an empty shell of disturbed thoughts, thank gob the guardian took all that out of your head."

The human closed his eyes.

"I can do it this time, I know I can."

He reopened his sight.

"Because this time she'll be with me."

The elemental dropped his look of concern, replaced by astonishment, then slowly dwindling down to understanding. He turned around and placed his hands on the table.

"I see. Alright Finn, I trust your judgment."

He spun back around, pointing a finger at the hero.

"But keep her safe, she's twice as important now and none of us want to lose our queen and our holy mother."

Finn placed his hand over his heart.

"I swear to you, and all the other citizens of the Fire Kingdom, that I will protect them both with my life."

Ferrum nodded.

"I know you will."

For a few minutes the two simply stood there, taking in the conversations they had just finished. Finn decided to make one more before leaving.

"Hey I wanted to ask Ferrum, can anyone learn to use alchemy?"

The elemental frowned a bit but nevertheless answered.

"Not quite, there are several factors that need to be taken into account."

Finn eagerly waited. The blacksmith held up a finger.

"First, you must have a sufficient source of thermal energy in your body, this allows alchemists to perform non-complex transmutations without the use of a circle, instead manipulating their internal chi to form the necessary paths for the reaction to take place."

He held up a second finger.

"Second, it is best if the user has elemental manipulation, allowing them to quickly inscribe transmutation circles when needed."

A third finger.

"Lastly, you have to be able to stand the physically draining consequence of using this art."

At this condition Finn was confused, so Ferrum went into detail.

"Alchemy's source of power is the user itself, the more heat and energy you have access to, the greater the transmutations you'll be able to use and the longer you can go about performing them."

The blacksmith put his hand to his chest.

"Even I have a limit, the amount of strain it took to revive you yesterday nearly made me pass out. If an alchemist pushes themselves too far, their own body will become part of the reaction, transmuted into oblivion."

Finn's eyes were wide with shock. He had no idea just how dangerous the process could be. He held his head sadly.

"I understand, sorry for bothering you about it."

Ferrum walked up to his friend and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright Finn, I know that you sometimes feel like there's nothing you can do to help without some kind of magic or special power."

He thought for a moment on how to cheer up the hero.

"But, if you're up for it, I'd be willing to try to teach you when you get back from the Citadel."

Finn's excitement nearly exploded. He gave a grateful smile.

"Really? Oh man that's algebraic! Thank you so much dude."

Ferrum chuckled.

"Sure thing."

The two then proceeded back to the main room, where Finn continued on to the front door. The blacksmith suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Oh shoot, I almost forgot!"

He dug into a fireproof pouch sitting on a pile of old books and produced a second gold ring. He tossed it to Finn, who caught it with one hand and examined it. It was much simpler than the first one. It was just a glimmering metal band, the only notable feature was an infinity symbol carved into the metal. The ring felt mysteriously warm.

"The closer those two rings are to each other, the hotter they get."

Finn was impressed and pleased. What a clever and heartfelt idea.

"Don't worry, it won't burn you or anything. I took an extra hour adjusting the enchanted gold's temperature."

The hero tightly closed his hand around the gift.

"Have I ever told you you're the best Ferrum?"

The elemental smirked.

"I'm keeping count."

With that the two let out a laugh and bid farewell. As Finn walked away from the shop he felt more grateful than he'd ever been. He not only had the best friends ever, but the most amazing girl ever by his side and the full support of an entire kingdom to be with her. He couldn't help smiling as he continued on back to the palace, waving happily at all the fire citizens who had woken up to start the day.

* * *

Flame Princess had a satisfying morning. After waking up to the warmth of the sun still shining through the regrouping ash clouds, she had gone out to the corridor to see it fully refurbished without so much as a scratch visible on the newly formed walls. The servants were all preparing a variety of delicious smelling foods, preparing a feast to thank everyone for saving their beloved kingdom.

Although Finn had gone out early, as Torcho had said, she was hopeful that he would return before noon, not wanting to miss them telling each other good morning and perhaps sharing another kiss to begin the day with an extra touch of happiness. With the throne room cleared, once again embodying the strength of the Fire Kingdom, the princess quietly took her seat and waited for the first business of the day.

After a few minutes, the large front gate opened, revealing a mature humanoid female surrounded by a flame shield. The woman wasted no time in making her way to the throne and stopping to do a curtsy to the fiery ruler sitting upon it. Flame princess smiled, glad to see an old acquaintance. It was Princess Bubblegum.

"Good day Flame Princess, how has your morning been?"

FP stood up and walked over to the candy monarch. She never had a taste for being formal with people she knew personally.

"It's been uplifting. I was impressed and grateful to see how quickly my people were able to rebuild after the attack."

PB smiled, examining the restored structures within the room.

"Yes, your citizens have accomplished so much since you came to power. Perhaps it was always destined for your father to be usurped."

Flame Princess frowned slightly and lowered her gaze to the ground. Realizing the poor choice of words, the candy ruler placed a hand on the fiery girl's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, that was insensitive."

FP shook her head.

"No it's alright, what he did was awful and just because he gave his life doesn't excuse him from what has happened. He was a terrible king and a bad father, but at the very least, he was a good husband."

The fire monarch sighed then motioned for Bubblegum to follow her back to the throne. As she sat in once more in the stone chair, the candy princess stopped a few feet away.

"So what did you want to discuss?"

PB pulled out a green prism from her pocket and threw it on the ground in front of Flame Princess. A holographic image of what appeared to be a tear within a dimension appeared. The pink woman then stepped up to the screen and began moving aside various data charts to focus on the images.

"After the crystal dragon's attack on the Fire Kingdom I sent out several probes to scan the perimeter of the land. What they found was a dimensional rift hidden behind several jagged peaks to the south."

She pulled up the map.

"I investigated as you had requested and found an isolated portal that had been crudely torn open, as if by a being who could rip the very fabric of space-time."

More images appeared of the site.

"Journeying into the portal revealed a direct link to the crystal dimension, which is the only possible origin point of the creature and the only method by which one could enter Ooo."

FP had a serious and worried look upon her face. She leaned forward and studied the data, showing the fluctuating special energies that the portal emanated.

"So what you're saying is, someone purposefully unleashed that monster on the kingdom?"

PB nodded solemnly.

The fiery princess placed her hand on her chin, deep in thought. She then looked back at Princess Bubblegum.

"Did you find anything else, any possible suspect?"

The candy monarch pushed aside the entire file on the portal and brought a new one.

"While examining the surrounding area my scouts detected residual traces of time-space particles, these left a path for us to follow, right from the portal to the fire palace. The energy could only be seen through a scanner that was set for extra-dimensional tracking"

FP was stunned.

"Are you saying that, whoever or whatever let that thing loose on my people was…"

PB finished for her.

"A multidimensional being. Or at the very least, one that exists on higher plane than the first three."

Flame Princess didn't know how to react. A threat this advanced could come back at potentially any moment. After thinking it over for a few moments, she replied.

"Princess, could you please continue monitoring the area? I can set a closed of space for you to work with and provide whatever materials you need."

PB made a small bow.

"Of course your majesty. I'd be happy to help you secure your people's safety."

FP stood up and walked to the candy ruler, giving her a bow as well.

"Thank you."

The two smiled at each other before the gates opened once more, inviting in another humanoid form which, this time, was an actual human. Finn approached the throne but stopped as he noticed the gummy princess. His eyes widened.

"PB! What are you doing here?"

He strode up and gave her a quick hug, which FP was totally cool with.

The pink woman smiled back at the young man.

"Hi Finn, I'm just delivering a report about the dragon attack."

The hero's face hardened into one of concern.

"What did you find?"

PB picked up her prism and turned it off, then turned to the human.

"We have evidence that points to a being that can manipulate space-time, allowing them to create portals to other dimensions with apparently little effort. This person also has a composition that is foreign to the first three dimensions, suggesting that it didn't originate from anywhere in Ooo. It is believed they were responsible for the rampaging beast you fought yesterday."

Finn thought hard, just like the two princesses next to him. Without having anything else to say, PB excused herself and bid a goodbye to her two friends. As Bubblegum disappeared behind the closing gate, FP turned to the young man with her arms crossed. The hero saw this and had a look of confusion.

"What?"

The fire princess gave a look that made Finn realize what he was lacking. The human closed the distance between himself and the girl, giving her a tender embrace.

"Good morning FP."

"Good morning Finn."

With that done, Finn attempted to back away but caught himself just in time after noticing the disappointed look in his princess's eyes. He smiled with a mental sigh and leaned in to kiss his lady. Though it was true he was sad to not feel the same sensation she did, for now his only concern was keeping FP happy, as he always strived to do.

* * *

**_I'm starting to see more post-"Earth and Water" fics, keeping the flame alive, just as we should._**

**_ A few of you guys have been wondering how I crank these out so fast. Well I probably have more free time than the rest of you guys, heck I'm still looking for a job. But the main reason is that I really just HATE leaving people to wait, and that gives a lot of motivation. Later_**

**_next:_**Chapter 7: Final Preparations


	7. Chapter 7: Final Preparations

Chapter 7: Final Preparations

The Grasslands had finally dried off by the time Finn was making the trip back to the tree house. The sky had cleared up nicely, letting the shining sun warm the ground beneath it. It was a peaceful walk back to the hero's home, but not a painless one. Every once in a while the young man scratched his itching burned lips.

Finn was unaware how overextended his flame shield was. As Flame Princess escorted him to the edge of the Fire Kingdom she asked for one more smooch before the hero left for home. The moment their mouths touched the protective barrier between them dissipated, leaving a nasty scorch on the human's face. Secretly however, Finn was overjoyed to feel the princess's real skin against his again.

Reaching the final hill, the resilient tree fort came into view, no different than Finn left it. As the young man came closer, he began hearing shouts of excitement and some name calling coming from inside. Curious, Finn walked to the door and pressed his ear against it, hoping to reveal if the beings in his house were friend, or foe.

"You'll never get past me girl, I've held the highest rank on this one for eight years."

This was undoubtedly the voice of Jake. A second replied with a scoff.

"Whatever weenie, skill gets you nothing against experience, and I've got more of that than you ever will."

Finn smiled. He opened the door and briskly walked inside. After entering the kitchen, he proceeded to climb up the ladder to the living room. Emerging from the inner tree trunk, he found Jake and Marceline playing videogames on Beemo while Lady Rainicorn was watching with amusement. As soon as the human stepped onto the floor, all four of them locked their eyes on him.

"Finn!" they all yelled.

Before the hero could move another inch, Marceline had grabbed him off the ground into a tight squeeze, Beemo latched onto his dangling leg, Jake stretched his arms around the whole group, and finally Lady circled the tangled mess with her long body. They all laughed until the young man proclaimed that his lungs were out of air. After being released the group gathered around him.

"Dude, we were freaking out after PB told us about that crystal dragon, why didn't you call me man?"

Jake was obviously concerned and upset, but a pinch of jealousy was also present. The vampire queen however, made no attempt to cover her disappointment.

"You butt, I should've gotten in on some of that action, I haven't had a good fight in a long time."

Rainicorn just giggled while Beemo was crying digital tears.

"Finn, please don't put yourself in danger like that!"

The human kneeled down and comforted the little computer with a pat on the head.

"It's ok Beemo, I always come back, I'm not dumb enough to die. Well, too much."

At this comment everyone's eyes widened with shock.

"WHAT!?" Again, in unison.

Finn spent the next hour on the couch, explaining in great detail how the fight with the dragon had gone about. His friends didn't dare interrupt as he acted out several parts of the battle, reliving every grueling second of struggle against the mighty beast. As he finished everyone gave praise and congrats on a fight well won. Jake gave a sigh.

"Man, I'm always missing the good stuff these days. It's too bad there's not more time in the day."

Lady nuzzled him with her nose.

"미안 해요 당신이 꿀은 더 이상 동생과 함께 많은 시간을 얻을하지 않습니다."

Jake turned to his wife and gave her a hug.

"Aw it's ok babe, my little bro's growing up, he's got big changes coming his way."

The dog grew a mischievous grin on his face as he turned back to his best friend.

"Speaking of which, care to explain where you got that burn on your mouth?"

Finn's face grew a bright red as everyone stared at him with suspicion. The young man covering his sore lips with his hands, a look of nervousness upon him.

"Oh that, I um…well…tripped and landed on my face while leaving the Fire Kingdom, haha, you know how it is."

His story unfortunately didn't convince anyone. Marceline stared laughing, flipping around in the air while holding her gut. Lady giggled quietly while Beemo awed. Jake crossed his arms, still holding his grin. Finn gave up.

"Ok fine, it's from Flame Princess."

The dog's smile widened, he hopped onto the couch and took his bro by the shoulders.

"I knew you shouldn't give up man, I told you she was your 'one'!"

He brought in the human for another hug as the other three settled down. After releasing Finn, Jake demanded he tell him and the rest of the group the whole story. This, naturally, took another few hours. The hero did his best to include every detail, though blushed every time he had to mention the Ancestral Flame's little matchmaking game. By the time Finn reached the conclusion of his tale, the sun was barely peeking over the pink horizon. Marceline excused herself, stating that she had some business to take care of that night. Beemo, who was low on battery charge, went to go plug itself in for the night. Lady gave a loud yawn. Jake, also sensing it was about time to head home, told her to wait down in the treasure room while he finished talking with Finn. As the rainicorn floated down the ladder, the dog returned his attention to his buddy.

"So, you still hang out quite a bit with Ferrum?"

Finn looked at his friend with a questioned look.

"Yeah, is there something wrong with that?"

Jake crossed his arms.

"It's just, I thought **I **was your best bro ham, but you seem pretty chummy with that hot-headed guy."

Finn rolled his eyes but decided to comfort his friend.

"Come on Jake, you really believe I would just drop you to the number two spot just like that? Ferrum is an awesome dude but he could never replace you man."

He jumped at the yellow dog and they both fell off the couch rolling around laughing. After a few moments, a box fell out of Finn's pack, bumping the ground a few times before hitting the table. Jake got out of his tussle with his brother and walked over to it.

"Wait Jake don't mess with that!"

Finn desperately shook his hands back and forth but the dog wouldn't listen. He opened the small container and was shocked by what he found. He turned to Finn with an astonished look.

"Dude! Why do you have something like this in you pack?"

Finn groaned but gave in, seeing how determined Jake was to get the truth out of him.

"Ferrum gave it to me as a gift. He said it was for 'the right time' or whatever."

The magical canine walked over to the human. He looked upset again.

"Man, this fire guy has got your whole attention, I feel like I'm just a neighbor who stops by every once in a while."

Finn put his hand on his bro's shoulder.

"Please Jake, you've gotta let it go, deep down you know you'll always be the one I come to first." He was pleading at this point. The dog was deep in thought, a little too deep to be believable.

"Well, you're gonna have to prove it to me."

The hero was relived; he'd do whatever it takes to regain his friend's confidence.

"Anything man, what do I have to do?"

The dog tossed the box to his human counterpart, who caught it easily in his hands. When Finn looked back up, the canine had a rather large smirk on his face.

"You've got to promise me that I'll be your best man."

The young man's mouth dropped as his cheeks flushed.

"What!? What the hey does that mean?"

Jake leaned on the table, smirk intact and arms crossed once again.

"You do know what kind of ring that is right?" he replied, pointing to the box.

Finn stood up from his knees, trying to remain dignified.

"Well duh I know what it is. But that's a huge step for a relationship, I'm nowhere near that!"

Jake hopped onto the table, enjoying toying with the young human.

"Don't count yourself out yet man, you and FP are almost 18, and that's the magic number. I'm talking ceremonies, vows, becoming adults, and eventually…tier 15." He bumped his eyebrows up and down at the last part, causing Finn to grow heavily red faced and cover his ears.

"Shut up dude! I don't need to hear all this junk!"

He walked to the end of the room and examined the ring closely on its perch from the box. A few moments later he closed it and turned to face Jake, a serious look in his eyes.

"Besides, there's something I've got to do first."

Jake stopped smiling and stood back up. His expression was curious.

"And what might that be bro?"

Finn closed his eyes and focused on his mind, climbing deep into his subconscious to access the Vault. Luckily, ever since the hero had lain to rest the anguished repressed memory of his previous incarnation, Shoko, the locked container of his memories became much easier to control. He found what he was looking for and released it from its binds.

As the memory flooded back to him, Finn let out a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"There's one more thing that I haven't told you Jake."

* * *

The house was dead quiet as Jake stared at his friend from the couch. The dog had remained unmoved for a long time, soaking in the experience of visiting the Citadel of Truth. He finally, reacted, slipping off the comfy sofa and walking around the table to stand before the human. He sniffled a little, a single tear leaving his eye. He pounded his fist on his heart.

"Bro, I have even more respect for you now than I ever have."

He grabbed the young man in his giant stretched hands and held him close, more tears running down his now tightly shut lids.

"You won't be stopped man, you'll spit on nature in the face and jump through universes just to finally be with the woman you love."

He looked up into Finn's eyes.

"I'm gonna be waiting brother, right here, until you get back, and when you do we're throwing the most mathematical party ever. It'll be so big that Peebles will never be able to top it with any of her royal balls."

He went on and on, talking about Tree Trunks' pies, mountains of ice cream, a whole room dedicated to creating the most amazing sandwiches in existence. Finn couldn't help but smile as the dog continued to hold him in an inescapable grip. Finally, Jake calmed down and let his bro out of his embrace. He wiped away any remaining wetness in his eyes and smiled at the human.

"From now on Finn, I consider you a man, even if it's technically a few months before it's official."

The hero thanked his yellow companion and gave him a fist bump, signifying their bond as brothers and respect between them. With their conversation concluded, Jake said goodnight and went to get Lady, who had fallen asleep on the downstairs couch.

Finn watched from his bedroom window as the dog stretched 50 feet tall and gently placed his beloved on his back, taking them home with giant steps. The hero watched until he could no longer see the golden fur of his buddy. After that, he took a much needed shower, ate some leftover meatloaf in the fridge, and stripped off his shirt and pants before climbing into bed. As he lay there in the near darkness, he found that he still had problems drifting off to slumber land.

Looking over, Finn found the candle that was always next to him on the bedside table. He smiled at the flickering flame, imagining the beautiful girl he would soon be able to touch for real, feeling the warmth and softness of her skin without having to pay a deadly price. The young man leaned forward and got his face as close as he could to the fire without getting caught in its heat. He gentle puckered his lips and brushed them against the yellow ribbons darting from the top of the wax.

"Goodnight FP, I'll see you soon," he whispered.

Satisfied, the human blew out the flame, collapsed back into his covers, and faded out of consciousness, beginning to enter a realm of dreams.

* * *

This world was cold, Finn could barely keep himself from shivering as he walked through a barren wasteland of destruction. All around the land was either burned to the ground or presented no sign of life. Strangely, there were no stray flames, it was quiet, not even an ominous whistling wind broke through the dead air.

To the hero's right was a horrifying sight. It was the Candy Kingdom, its protective walls laying in pieces on the ground. The once vigilant gumball guardians were collapsed within the city, their heads riddled with cracks and holes. But the most terrifying sight was the castle itself. A massive crater had been perfectly cut into the side of the building, as if something had simply come by and erased the material that once was there. Though the rest of the fortress was infested with various damages, the crater by no means appeared to be the result of an impact.

Looking away, Finn found himself next to his tree house. The sight was bizarre. It had been cleanly cut diagonally down the middle, but instead of the tree lying in two massive pieces on the ground, the side that had be eviscerated simply floated there in midair, defying gravity. The hero noticed that debris from the slice was also hovering nearby. The entire scene was made to be a frozen point in time, captured the moment the beloved home was destroyed.

Not wanting to see more, Finn ran as fast as he could, not wanting to see anymore. He was interrupted as he tripped over a large stone, skidding to a bumpy halt on a patch of red rock. Recovering, he found himself at the gates to the Fire Kingdom. But instead of the familiar glowing lava, the puddles of molten rock had hardened, leaving only ugly patches of volcanic earth. Frightened of what he might find beyond, the hero turned away, not wanting to see his princess's kingdom devastated a second time.

Behind him, Finn found what was supposed to be the Ice Kingdom, yet the only visible structure was the Ice King's castle, halfway melted and jutting out of an ocean of melted snow. Looking closer however, the young man saw that it wasn't liquid water, it was a substance he could not identify. Placing his hand into the glass-like sea, the human discovered that the material had no determinable composition or texture, it was completely smooth.

Standing once more, Finn found himself in a completely new location, empty space. Around him drifted hundreds of what appeared to be asteroids and other rocky bodies. Feeling a sense of familiarity, he turned to observe the rest of the surroundings. He gasped with dread as he spotted a structure he knew from his past. Prismo's Time Room floated in the void, torn completely in half with no visible sign of the wish master. Wanting to look closer, the hero hopped from rock to rock attempting to reach the shattered dimension.

His act was in vain as the world around him shifted again. This time, he was in fact standing in a liquid of some sort, so much in fact that it came up to his ankles. Finn looked down only to screech with fright. The pool of fluid he was standing in was red, thick, and warm. He quickly looked around and jumped to an exposed rock formation. Having escaped the lake of blood, the human examined what location he had been dumped into this time. It was the Nighosphere. But as bad as the demon dimension was last time he'd visited, this was a whole new level of despair and anguish that made the young man instantly vomit.

All around him were the bodies of the various inhabitants of the realm, either floating motionless in the crimson sea of blood or hanging from the wicked cliffs and ledges that were common to the world. As Finn's disbelieving eyes studied the slaughter around him, they spotted something floating in the sea of red.

Kneeling down, Finn picked the object out of the mass of spilled life fluid and was instantly shocked. He held a large shred of a red business tie. The human could not find the right reaction in his mind.

"Abadeer. No, that's impossible…"

A sudden gust blew the remnant out of his hand. Standing back up, Finn turned around to yet another view. Below him was the entire land of Ooo, void of all life and drained of any color other than black. Looking carefully, the hero noticed more of the strange anomalies he witnessed at his house. Time itself, frozen and discontinued, along with more unexplained phenomena similar to the state of the candy castle.

"Time and space torn apart."

Finn was startled by the voice, quickly spinning around to see a most familiar being. A golden bird with sparkling feathers was perched on the ledge behind the human. He glared at the mystical being.

"Cosmic Owl. Why are **you** here?"

The young man had developed a distaste for the deity, ever since the incident over two years ago. The great bird looked at him slowly, a look of defeat and sorrow on his face.

"He has returned Finn, and all that exists is in danger."

The human briefly had a vision of the Lich, annihilating every source of life in the land, but quickly shook it off and took a step toward the owl, holding up his fist.

"Why should I listen to you? Last time I did I almost lost the best thing that ever happened to me."

The shining being looked deep into the hero's eyes.

"What I did was necessary, you cannot dwell on the past forever. Please Finn, heed my warning, and be careful."

With that final line, the dream scape began to collapse, leaving the young man in utter darkness before he woke up in a sweat. His breathing was abnormal and his heart rate skyrocketed. He sat up and placed his hand over his face.

_Why did __**he**__ have to be there? I don't want to even dare think that that was a prophetic dream._

Deciding to try shaking it off, Finn returned his head to his pillow and drifted back into his subconscious. He didn't encounter the owl again, instead having wonderful dreams of the good old days with his friends.

* * *

The sun was Finn's wake up call once again, bursting through the window as if shouting at the human to wake up. He pried his eyes open and sat up to let out a large yawn. After scratching his head a bit, the hero got dressed and grabbed his pack from the bedside, heading down the ladder for breakfast. The house was silent, even Beemo was still charging itself while it slept.

After digging in the kitchen for some bacon pancakes, Finn took a stack to the table and began eating. As he did, his mind drifted back to the nightmare he had experienced the night before. It was truly the worst thing he had ever seen. He ate faster to push the thoughts out of his head.

Having filled his belly for the morning ahead, the human cleaned up and walked to the window, gazing at the sunrise outside. It seemed that now every time he looked into the golden orb of light, he was reminded of Flame Princes, who was herself like his sunshine. The young man smiled, knowing that in a short time he would be off on an adventure with his lady, one that had a grand purpose to fulfill.

Finished with thinking of the day ahead, Finn walked to the couch and took out his demon blood sword. He inspected the weapon carefully, looking for any damages it sustained from battling the crystal dragon. He found none, thankful he wouldn't have to bother Ferrum again. As he slid the blade behind him into his pack, he reached in and took out the box containing the ring.

The item was still golden as ever, reflecting a little sunlight through its emerald gem. The human found himself pondering on the future, his future. Was he really ready to hold on to this kind of object? It seemed so far away, the thought of settling down like Jake had. But at the same time, it felt right, as if the feelings Finn had going through his heart all this time were finally satisfied that the boy had figured it out.

Sighing, Finn put away the item and got up from the couch, heading over to the treasure room. He began digging through the piles of gold and jewels until he found what he was looking for, a small bottle containing cyclops tears. He had realized the journey would be dangerous and decided he didn't want to be left unprepared, especially since FP was coming with him.

He smiled as he thought of her again, bringing a slight pain to his mouth. Remembering his burnt lips, Finn uncorked the bottle and let a few of the magical tears drop on is injury, healing it moments later. Placing the bottle in his pack, Finn did a mental checklist before taking a deep breath and heading out the door.

The morning air was refreshing helping the young man shake off the rest of his sleepiness. He took one final look at the tree fort before it would disappear behind a hill. Unfortunately, as his turned, all he saw was the same image of his home destroyed within the dream. Panicking, he shook his head and looked again. The house was standing as normal as ever, no sign of anything out of place.

Finn frowned, hoping this wasn't going to be a regular deal whenever he visited one of the places from that awful nightmare. Pushing on, the hero continued to make his way to the Fire Kingdom, wondering how the Lich might possibly gain the power to mess with time and space.

* * *

_**You guys might have noticed that as new episodes come out I implement any parts of them I can into this fic, just to keep things more interesting and with a real feel to them. Glob forbid they give Finn a new love interest and screw that up for it. (Not that it would stop me, or anyone else, from continuing this epic pairing)**_

_**Anyway, I've been getting some advice about updating and wanted your guys' opinion. I'm thinking of posting a new chapter every other day instead of daily, to let it 'soak in' as people have said. Tell me what you guys think, I have no problem continuing the daily updates if you really want to get these chapters. Later.**_

_**next:** _Chapter 8: Return to the Citadel, Part 1


	8. Chapter 8: Return to the Citadel, Part 1

Chapter 8: Return to the Citadel, Part 1

The dark yet illuminated mountain range of the Fire Kingdom once again came into view, bringing a smile to Finn's face. The blazing lands had become so familiar to him it was like a second home, ironic considering he couldn't enter it without protection. Soon though, he hoped, this would not be an issue.

As the grasslands grew thinner in response to the approaching volcanic ground the human saw a friend basking on the same rock he had stopped at the other day. Flambo was snoozing peacefully, his flames were quite well regressed. Knowing there was no other being around to cast flame shield, the hero had no choice but to wake the little guy and ask for help. Kneeling down to bring the flambit to eye level, Finn spoke softly.

"Pst, hey, Flambo, wake up buddy."

The elemental stirred but simply lay over on his side away from the young man. Groaning and realizing being courteous wasn't going to get him anywhere, Finn cleared his throat and shouted.

"Hey Flambo!"

This time the fiery creature yelped and fell off his perch, falling to the ground behind the boulder. Worried, the human walked around the rock to check on him. The flambit was rubbing his head with an irritated look.

"What's the big idea yous!?"

He opened his eyes and looked at his awakener. Instantly the crankiness faded and was replaced by what appeared to be shame.

"Aw nuts, I fell asleeps didn't I?"

Finn got to his knee and looked curiously at his friend.

"Uh yeah, were you waiting for something?"

Flambo stood up and brushed himself off.

"You know it. I was under orders to wait for yous to come by so I could gives you a flame shield."

The hero grinned, appreciating FP's consideration.

"Well make it a good one buddy, cuz if I'm lucky, it's the last time I'll need it."

Flambo's eyes grew wide.

"Wows, no kidding? Alright then, here we goes, I'm gonna miss gettin charcoal for this."

He mumbled the last part before rubbing his palms together and beginning the chant as fire runes appeared around him. For the first time, Finn could understand the cryptic hissing of the spell that had granted him so much freedom.

**Though the flames may gather in mass, allow this outsider to safely pass.**

With the final words, Flambo hocked a wad of spit into the human's forehead. At first it burned, but after the blue aura had done its job, the hero stood fully protected from any source of fire. He gave the flambit an annoyed glare. The fiery creature chuckled.

"For old time's sake, haha."

Ignoring the comment, Finn thanked the elemental and proceeded through the narrow pass to his destination. Upon reaching the gates, he saw the same two flame guards from the other day, vigilantly looking out for potential intruders. Finn stopped as he did once earlier and waited for the guards to ask him his business. Instead however, they simply waved.

"S'up Finn, go right in man."

The two gestured to the gate, which was already being opened by the third guard at the top. The human raised an eyebrow.

"You're letting me in, just like that?"

The guards looked at each other for a moment then turned back to the human, an expression of obviousness on their faces.

"Uh, yeah, we like owe you our butts and stuff. Besides, you're the queen's boyfriend so that gives you some credentials."

Finn blushed a little.

"Well I wouldn't say we ever got back together so-"

One of the guards gestured to the open gates with his thumb.

"Dude just go to her."

The human hurried through and gate reclosed behind him, the guards resuming their positions.

"Seriously, that guy's got to learn to accept things more often."

The other replied with a short laugh.

"Yeah, just like I have to accept that I took it way too far with Burns' cousin."

The first guard looked to his companion and shook his head in irritation.

"I told you to stop doing that! You only have to be honest if I **ask **you about junk like that, which I would never do!"

* * *

The Fire Kingdom had nearly been restored. What remaining lava golems that could be seen were busily picking up debris and tossing it into the lake of molten rock. Finn was greeted by every fire elemental he passed on his way to the palace. A few female ones tried to hug him but nearby guards advised against it, worried their ruler might react badly. Leaving behind a cheering crowd, the hero entered the palace doors and walked into the throne room.

Flame Princess wasn't there, instead Torcho could be seen in a distant corner of the room, speaking with what appeared to be a group of rock elementals. The human carefully walked up and cleared his throat, attempting to get some attention. The group turned and Torcho gave a friendly grin.

"Hello again Finn, my cousin is up in her room meditating, go on through."

He gestured to the corridor. The young man thanked the prince, who returned to the negotiation, and continued down the hallway. The palace was at this point fully repaired, with brand new paintings and decorative artifacts lining the walls. Finn admired several while making his way up the castle to FP's chamber.

As he reached the correct door he stopped himself from knocking, remembering what Torcho had said. Instead he inched the entrance open then quietly shut it behind him as he entered. Once inside Finn instantly took in a scent he knew well. Though he initially secretly agreed with Jake that the princess's candles smelled odd, he had grown to rather like their eccentric fragrance.

In the middle of the room, Flame Princess was sitting cross-legged with her arms in her lap, eyes closed, and breathing deeply to relax herself. With each inhale and exhale, white flames were emitted from her body. Finn found himself stunned by how peaceful and beautiful she appeared, almost hesitating to come any closer in fear of interrupting her mental exercise.

Eventually though, he stepped over and sat the same way facing her. He smiled for a moment at the girl's glowing face before closing his own eyes to join her. Within the absolute silence of the room, the human found it quite effective in clearing his own mind, especially of the horrid vision Cosmic Owl had planted into him. He thought of the day ahead, returning to the ancient fortress that was the Citadel of Truth, trying once more to gain the natural flame immunity he so desperately wanted. He imagined the centuries that would pass within the isolated dimension, with nothing to do but think and stare into nothingness. Still, he was admittedly scared. What if he failed again? How would he live with himself knowing he lost his only chance to truly unite with the girl of his dreams?

Flame Princess suddenly opened her eyes, looking at the young man in front of her with concern. She had known he was there the whole time, thanks to the Ancestral Flame's ability to read hearts. Finn felt the shifting flames nearby and opened his sight as well, gazing back into the fire elemental's golden pupils. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, turning her expression to one of comfort.

"I know you're afraid Finn, but I also know that this time will be different, I'll be there watching as you walk into that citadel to claim what you deserve."

The human found himself uplifted slightly by her words, returning a hard fought smile. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. The fiery girl offered the young man her hands, which he took and pulled himself off the floor, taking her with him. As they stood lost in each other's sight, FP appeared to grow a little nervous, as if there was something she wanted to say but couldn't quite bring herself to do so. Finn picked up on this and moved his hand to her cheek, a concerned look now resting on his features.

"What wrong FP? Something's bothering you."

The princess looked to the ground, not sure how to respond. Finally though, she swallowed and returned to the human.

"Well, there's something I meant to ask you. I've kinda been talking about it vaguely and I'm sure you've noticed some of the citizens whispering about it."

The hero was confused. He may have grown up but he was still a little naïve to details.

"What is it? You know it's easy to talk to me princess."

He gave her an encouraging grin, which made it hard for her to resist giving him a peck on his lips, but knowing it wouldn't do anything.

"First let me ask something else. Do you think that we're, you know, rushing this a bit?"

The young man flinched at the question, but quickly recovered and thought hard about how to reply. Flame Princess still looked nervous, he couldn't tell which way she was swinging on the subject. This made it a little intimidating, but nevertheless, he had to be honest.

"Flame Princess, the two of us are almost adults now, we know what feelings are true and which are just impulse. I think that, since the past few years our love has just kept growing, even if it was hidden, we were never truly apart, we were always hoping for the other's affection and grew closer every day."

He remained his hold on the fire ruler's eyes while running a hand through her flaming hair.

"I love you very much FP, and I'd have no doubt in doing whatever it takes to be with you every moment of my life."

The hero kissed the girl's hand then held a soft smile while waiting for her reply. The princess was silent at first but then, tears came to her eyes. Finn thought he had upset her but this was quickly bunked as she threw herself into his arms and wrapped hers around his middle.

"That's all I wanted to hear. I love you too Finn."

The hero returned the embrace, enjoying the feeling of having FP in his hold. They separated after a moment and Flame Princess returned to holding his hands.

"I had hoped you would see it that way, because while I was meditating I was worried that you might not feel comfortable advancing so fast."

Finn continued running his fingers through the fiery girl's crimson locks.

"Like I said, it was already there, we just didn't know it."

The princess smiled again, then remembered her original question.

"Finn, as you mentioned we're getting close to turning 18."

She let go of the human's hands and walked over to her balcony, gazing out into the lava lake. The hero joined her a moment later, when she resumed speaking.

"At that age it'll be expected for me to find a person to rule beside me. After all, having a single monarch has had a bad influence on my people, as my father no doubt demonstrated."

She turned to look at Finn, who was silently listening to the girl.

"The reason I asked how you felt about our relationship is because, well, I think…no…I know, that the man I want as my king, is you Finn."

Her eyes shimmered from the light of the molten rock below, as if Finn didn't have enough trouble resisting the gravity around the enchanting fire elemental. He finally erased the look of astonishment on his face and got down on one knee giving a knightly bow. He looked at FP, who was waiting eagerly for his response.

"If I'm really the one you'd choose to have by your side for all time, then there is now a second reason for me to beat that citadel's butt."

He released a massive smile from deep within his heart, fueled by the knowledge that the girl he loved wanted nothing less than to be with him, always. Being an adventurer had been fun, but he was fully willing to move on to the next stage of his life.

"When the time comes, it would be my honor to aid and comfort you in ruling this great kingdom."

As Finn stood up straight again, he watched as Flame Princess began uncontrollably sobbing again. With lightning speed she dragged the young man into her arms, leaving a river of lava flowing down his shirt.

"Thank you Finn, thank you so much."

The hero managed to free his arms and place them across the fiery girl's back. He smiled as he quietly waited for her to settle down. As he did, the flames emanating from the princess's body took shape, forming yet another infinity symbol around the couple's feet. The fire turned pink. Finn gave a happy sigh, wondering for a moment why the ancient pyre had reacted so greatly to the two teenagers' bond.

* * *

Before leaving the outskirts of the city, Finn had made one last check of the supplies they would need. Satisfied with the weapons and food stored in his pack, he pulled out a degraded looking scroll while the final sights of civilization disappeared behind him and Flame Princess.

"What's that for?" the girl asked, pointing to the old parchment the human was now reading.

The young man held it up for her to see.

"It's the map to the cave of the portal, plus it also explains the three gates we need to pass to reach it."

FP raised an eyebrow as they walked.

"Gates?"

The hero continued reading while moving along.

"Yeah, I guess whoever opened it didn't want people just waltzing in willy-nilly, so they set up three magical barriers that triggered various traps. Unfortunately there's no way to avoid them but if me and Ferrum survived I have no doubt that you'll do just fine. I'll be right there next to you the whole time."

He smiled at his princess, who looked a bit nervous.

"What kinds of traps?"

Finn looked around at the volcanic paths before them, using half his attention to take them where they needed to go while also explaining the obstacles to the young ruler.

"The first barrier is the Gate of Reflection, when you pass through it produces a copy of you at a younger age, forcing you to face your own immaturity, both psychologically and in combat."

FP shuddered a bit.

"You…have to kill your own past self?"

Finn looked down suddenly as he paused at an opening in a rock formation.

"It was, difficult. Ferrum seemed to have been more shaken up about it than I did, he didn't speak until we reached the next barrier."

The hero passed through the gap, Flame Princess following closely behind.

"Next comes the Gate of Repression. Walking past the arch knocks you out and throws you deep into your own subconscious. To awaken, you have to face your fears one by one."

FP saw the young man shudder. It made her feel a little more scared.

"Finally you get to the Gate of Revelation. To cross its extensive length you have to expose yourself to the weakness that causes you the most despair."

The fiery girl froze for a moment before convincing herself to press on. As they cleared the next pass, a small mountain came into view. Upon its face rested an enormous fire rune, etched into the rock face. The two teens approached the symbol and Finn pulled out a box of matches. He struck one and ignited the tip before tossing it into the rune, which quickly burst into flames. He then tore off a small piece of the scroll, which appeared to have suffered the same action at an earlier time. He added the paper to the burning rune, which caused its flames to shift to a shade of blue.

The mountain rumbled and a slit began to appear in the center of the symbol, slowly widening until an entrance big enough to step through was formed. Finn replaced the matchbox and motioned for FP to follow him into the cave.

Inside, the initially endless path was lit with dozens of torches. The two walked unimpeded for what seemed like hours, tempting the princess to ask if the hallway went on forever. Before she decided to open her mouth, a new structure could be seen growing in the distance. It was a magnificent arch of glass, decorated with various hieroglyphics of a language that was long forgotten.

Reaching the Gate of Reflection, Finn stopped them from going any further and turned to face the fire elemental.

"Are you ready FP?" He pulled out his demon blood sword.

The princess was still nervous. The Ancestral Flame sensed this and raised her heat, sending a surge of power that granted a boost in confidence. The girl raised her burning blue fists and nodded.

"I'm ready."

The human nodded and turned to face the barrier. They both took a deep breath and stepped forward, passing through an invisible trigger than let loose an unforeseen magic. Making it through the gate, a force field blocked the path ahead, causing the two to brace themselves for the coming threat. An instant later, both the field in front of them and the gate behind turned into massive wall sized mirrors, creating a multitude of reflections of the duo on either side.

Flame Princess looked closer and noticed the reflections were not normal. It seemed that the further back they went into the infinite prism of images, the younger the girl's appearance. Even the images themselves had obvious differences. A few rows back, FP was wearing the royal dress she had worn before accepting the Ancestral Flame. Further back was one wearing the long abandoned armor that signified a king. Even deeper into the mirror were copies wearing her original royal dress, the one she had owned when she met Finn for the first time.

Before she knew it, one of these childish images began to move on its own accord, swiftly making its way to the front of the row before stepping unimpeded through the mirror and into the physical world. FP felt a look of astonishment come to her face, amazed at the powerful forces that protected the portal to the multiverse. The girl's now living reflection grew a smirk on its face, oddly giving the young queen a feeling of disgust.

_She looks so arrogant. Was I really like that years ago?_

Remembering her hero, FP stole a glance behind her to see that the couple was now back-to-back, with Finn taking a fighting stance against the young boy who had stepped out of his mirror. This Finn was also holding a demon blood sword. The only differences the princess could see was the shorter stature, the less refined facial features, and the still undeveloped muscle mass. The kid's face however, was the most noticeable. It held a look of deep sorrow, mixed with what seemed like anger or frustration.

_He looks, broken, as if he just endured a great loss._

She was interrupted from her thoughts by the phantasmal twin standing in front of her.

"You just couldn't see the opportunity in anything could you? That fact that being evil gave you all the freedom you ever wanted. The strength to make those who hurt you pay dearly, the inflicted fear to rule over the land. There's a reason dad locked you up, he knew that your cruelty would one day exceed his own."

FP was shocked by her copy's statements. This was clearly the thought process of herself at age 14, the year everything changed. This version however, had never been exposed to the virtuous heart of Finn the Human, remaining cold and vile through and through. Flame Princess stepped forward, igniting her arms in the mighty flames of her ancient creator.

"It doesn't matter what you say, the strength I've gained by Finn's side is far beyond what I could have accomplished on my own. Now I'll prove it, by teaching you the value of a heart that burns with compassion instead of rage."

The reflection's face turned to a glare, the flames from her back erupting heavily.

"Don't you talk to me like that you hag! Now I'm going to extinguish you once and for all!"

The splintered twin charged at FP with the force of a comet, barely giving the young queen time to form a shield of blue flames in front of her to take the impact. It halted the blow, but the younger fire elemental grabbed the ruler's neck through the evaporating barrier, followed by a fiery fist to the face.

Finn watched with growing concern as Flame Princess wiped the magma blood from her lips, before charging back at her copy with elegant coordination, catching the illusionary elemental off guard then following up with a flaming kick to the side of the head. The human's attention was drawn by rapidly approaching footsteps. He barely caught the blow from his younger self's blade as his own struggled to hold it away from his body.

Finn found his twin's expression to appear quite upset. This was justified as it finally spoke.

"You gave up you butt, you threw away all the hard work we had done to get to Princess Bubblegum's heart just to chase after some fiery chick you just met!"

The twin kicked Finn in the groin, a move the young man had long ago considered dishonorable. His younger self however held no such regard. This fight would be dirty. Ignoring the pain as best he could, the hero jumped as far from the kid as he could, creating some distance for him to recover from the pain in his boing-loins.

Grunting, Finn gave great effort to focus on the charging youngster as he hoped the stinging in his nether regions would fade. He blocked incoming swings from the boy, but found himself being pushed back.

_This is ba-nay-nays. I'm losing to a little punk!_

Finn pushed forth his strength and shoved his reflection back, giving the opening for his own slash. As the demon blade sliced through the air, it made contact with the younger boy's chest. This time, the shorter Finn jumped back, a long rip appearing in his shirt as a line of crimson began to form within.

Enraged, the kid charged again, mercilessly hacking at his older counterpart. However, the young man was prepared. He effortlessly took advantage of the disorganized assault of the reflection, parrying all his strikes until he found a window of opportunity to fire his fist into the false human's face. The boy was thrown back several feet and landed with a dull thud on the floor. He quickly recovered and swiped the blood oozing out of his nose.

"After I'm done with you, I'm gonna slit that meddling elemental's throat!"

Across the battlefield, Flame Princess's corrupted twin made a similar threat against Finn.

"In fact…" it began with a vile grin.

"Why wait," the two reflections finished in unison.

With those words, the Gate shimmered brightly and the massive wall mirrors warped the images upon them. The image depicting FP's copy was replaced with the one of Finn's and vice versa. They two beings of hatred regained their composure, now facing the opponents they truly desired. With that, the fighting resumed.

Finn's face immediately broke into a sweat as an intense beam of flames was fired straight at him. He managed to split the shot with his sword but it was in vain as the fake princess shot herself at him in her fire form, grabbing the human's shirt collar. The hero thanked his lucky stars that he had his flame shield on but knew it couldn't protect him forever. If the fiery being attacking him managed to raise her temperature high enough, the protective spell would be helpless to resist the scorching heat.

On the other side of the field, FP was desperately putting her footwork to use dodging the skilled swings of the human reflection she was battling. Her flexibility was only buying her time though as she neared the wall of the cave. She eventually hit the solid rock with her back, cursing to herself as the point of a red blade was shot at her. On instinct, the girl tilted her head away from the supposed area of impact. This was a smart move, as her neck would have been impaled by the wicked weapon if she had been slower. Though the worst had been avoided, a small trickle of magma started running down her skin toward her chest. FP quickly felt the wound with her hand to attempt to stop the bleeding. As she did a horrific laugh was heard from the vicious clone of her beloved companion.

"Well, it wasn't quite your whole neck but it's a start."

The young Finn retrieved his sword from the rock wall and prepared to make the finishing blow. He was too slow however, to block the blast of fire that hit him point blank in the chest, sending him flying across the room. Flame Princess's smoking hand was held out in front of her as she tried to calm her breathing. Stepping away from the wall, the soon-to-be queen approached the seemingly unconscious form of Finn's splintered image.

Unfortunately, the being wasn't done yet and struggled to stand, displaying the massive burns on his torso and abdomen. He swore under his breath before looking FP in the eyes with absolute loathing.

"All you touch eventually burns, how could I ever fall for a monster like you? How could that idiot stand to love you?!"

Those words somehow hurt more than any injury the princess had received. Tears welled in her eyes as she backed away, lowering her head to the ground. Satisfied with the distress he had created, the twisted copy sprung up and walked over to the girl, stopping just short of the emotionally distracted fire elemental, who had dropped further to her knees. He raised his red sword, aiming for her exposed neckline.

"Once you're gone, Finn will finally make the right decision to return to Bubblegum, where he'll be happier than he ever could have been with an insane living flame like you."

As a feeling of the end descended upon her, FP closed her flooding eyes.

No sound came but a screech of pain from the sickening human twin standing above the fair ruler. Her eyes flew open in shock. What had just happened? Daring to look up, she was astonished by the sight. Jammed into the human's back, piercing though the duplicate's green backpack, was the true Finn's crimson blade.

The vile reflection was frozen in place, apparently receiving a fair bit of shock trauma from the puncture in its back. The fake hero backed away clutching his burned chest, while reaching behind him to pull out the massive sword. Removing the now bloody weapon, both he and Flame Princess gazed across the arena to where the real human was.

Finn stood shaking heavily, several parts of his body burned through his flame shield. With his left arm, he was defiantly pinning the clone of his lady to the wall of the cave as his limb's skin began to smoke. The other arm was outstretched, with the appearance of having thrown something with great force. The young man's expression was one of cold seriousness that granted a gasp from the real princess of flames.

"Don't you dare ever talk about her that way you brat." His voice seemed to shake the room with a strong gravity that sent a shiver down the clone Finn's now damaged spine.

Deep rooted fear could be seen in the reflection's eyes. As if the threat was the final breaking point, the twisted copy fell to the ground, no longer moving, a pool of crimson forming around him. As Flame Princess managed to stand, she looked at Finn with renewed warmth in her heart. The conflict of her past had been cleansed once more. The Flame within her responded, healing the minor cuts on her body with licking white flames.

All the young man managed was a smile of admiration at the beautiful young lady before him. He then passed out, unable to resist the scorching flames of the princess's twin any longer. FP gasped as she attempted to shoot toward the hero's unconscious form, but was stopped by the bestial form of her clone, now grown to massive proportions and composed entirely of raging flames.

"Now it's just you and me you stupid hag! No more weak human pigs to get in our way."

Flame Princess lowered her head, hiding her face from the evil fire elemental. The creature began to laugh like a maniac before noticing a change in the seemingly sullen young queen. FP's fire had grown into a state of pure white. The elemental's hair was now blazing blue and her skin nearly matched her flames. Within a few seconds, the girl grew to a larger form, yet retained her humanoid appearance.

Slowly opening her eyes, she stared back at her astonished clone with determination and disgust.

"Don't you dare talk that way about my boyfriend you brat."

* * *

_**After many comments from both sides and what I felt was a turn-off threat from one review(lol+jk), I've decided to take the convincing advice of those who have stated the benefits of taking my time with updates. I'm sorry if a lot of you guys are pissed but it's honestly hard to argue with them, especially when one of them is the writer that inspired me to start this story in the first place. **_**_  
_**

_** But seriously, think about it. With this setup, I can GUARANTEE 100% to get you guys a chapter every other day(unless I state otherwise due to a job or something), whereas every day will eventually strain me and give me sucky grammar, plot, and other junk. Plus, it spreads out the suspense if I give you a cliffhanger, kinda like I just did, haha. **_

_** Again sorry and if anyone is still upset. I cranked out a long chapter this time to apologize for any inconveniences. Although the next few will also likely be longer than usual. Enjoy and please continue to write those reviews, they're really fun to read! Later.**_

_**next: **_Return to the Citadel, Part 2


	9. Chapter 9: Return to the Citadel, Part 2

Chapter 9: Return to the Citadel, Part 2

As Finn managed to force open one eye, he attempted to orient himself to the ground on which he was laying on. This proved impossible due to the fact that the entire room appeared to be illuminated by a near blinding light. Desperately hoping to figure out what was happening, the human pried open his other lid to increase his vision. After focusing for a few seconds he finally found his answer.

Several yards away, Flame Princess was in close combat with her replica. Despite being five times her normal size, she swiftly delivered blow after blow to her adolescent opponent. The reflection was completely overwhelmed by the experienced fighter's form and balance, forcing the enlarged being of blames to be forced against the wall of the cave. Finn couldn't help but beam with pride and the level of proficiency his princess was battling. After all, he was the one who taught her.

Realizing that no blast of fire would be able to deal with the might of the Ancestral Flame, the fake fire elemental instantly dissipated her beast form and ducked around FP's legs, rolling beyond the girl's reach. The young queen reacted quickly, shrinking back down to her normal size while still maintaining the blaze of the Flame upon her body.

It was at this point that Finn stared in awe at the girl. Her appearance was, at the least, angelic. Her skin was glowing a white beyond that of her exquisite dress. Her normally crimson hair was flowing as if suspended by an unseen wind, forming gentle ribbons of a heavenly electric blue that swirled around the soft yet determined features of her face. A feeling of grand admiration peaked in Finn's heart at the amount of strength he could observe in the ruler's golden eyes.

As the princess dashed to reach her enemy, the hero followed her movements. His vision zoomed out, taking in her complete composure. The curves of her elegant form reminded him of another comforting thought, the warm candle that was kept by his bedside. He had gazed at the small pillar of wax every night, watching the graceful flame dance upon its slowly melting stage. Finn realized he had never seen Flame Princess dance before, but just imagining the beauty of the event formed an odd warmth in his heart.

Really, it was a _strange _warmth. Finn snapped out of his trance watching his lady fight and managed to gain control of his partially burned hand. With significant effort, he raised his palm and rested it over his chest where the beating object rested within him. Luckily, it was one of the few spots that wasn't burned, offering no interference for the young man to seek the anomalous heat.

Expectantly, his heart rate was below normal, but his focus stayed on the odd rise in temperature within. Finn felt no physical difference in heat between his hand and his chest, the occurrence was directly inside his body. The human was concerned, then began looking for possible explanations.

_Hm. I think I remember something like this from that human anatomy lecture PB made me listen to. What did she call it? Heartburn?_

This was as good a guess as he could come up with and he was too exhausted to continue to dwell on the matter. He refocused his attention to the battle at hand. FP stood weakly, struggling to control her breathing as her gaze was locked on the defeated form of her reflection on its hands and knees. The younger fire elemental shook heavily as she regained her stance, looking at the true princess with the same look of hate she had earlier. Frustrated that a head on fight was not working in her favor, the devious elemental looked around the room. It was useless, with FP's far outclassing fighting skills and the power of the Ancestral Flame fully activated out of need to protect the young man she loved, there was no chance for the illusionary monarch to continue much longer.

Boiling with disgust at the source of her opponent's strength, the false girl looked over to the semiconscious human lying in the dirt. His eyes were glued to the shimmering white princess that stood to defend his honor and life. The look of compassion upon his face only kindled the fire of loathing, and now, envy, which was present in the twisted reflection's glaring pupils.

"Glob I hate you!" the being shouted at her older counterpart.

She took a step toward FP, earning a heightened defensive stance from the young queen.

"Evil should get me whatever I want, I am a princess! But you just have to repeatedly shove that human in my face, the one that supposedly gave you the hope to find all that power you possess. Well I've had enough! If I can't convince you to embrace your own nature, then at the least I'll remove that weakling from this world!"

The fiery clone shifted into a form of pure fire and spearheaded herself at the helpless hero in her path. She completely abandoned her physical body, converting it into pure flames to obliterate the young man from the face of the planet. This was her final strike. As the blazing javelin of living fire charged at Finn, the dark-sided girl let out one last laugh.

The vile copy's moment of satisfaction and victory was short lived. As she passed by Flame Princess on her way to the hero, she felt an unimaginable pain in what used to be her abdomen. However sickly the feeling was, it was unable to push through the disbelieving thought inside the evil elemental's mind: What just happened?

In the split second that the illusion had fired herself at Finn, FP had produced a concentrated blade of flames on her hand. Using a mastered technique of sword strikes that were given to her by the young man, she effortlessly bisected the fake fire elemental's weaponized body. In her final moments of existence, the mirrored image of the princess heard the young ruler speak one last time.

"Evil's nature has always suffered the fate of being alone. For this reason, you cannot hope to understand the power that has been united and shared between me and Finn. The infection of hate in your heart will never match the blazing pyre that connects ours."

As the final word drifted into the dying reflection's ears, her expression was still frozen in disbelief. Finally dissipating into the air, the only part of the extinguished phantasm that made it to Finn were a small cluster of embers, which harmlessly bounced off of the human's ever vigilant flame shield.

His vision having improved slightly, the hero stared through the evaporating remains of the princess's copy, only to see the enchanting girl making her way toward the disabled young man. Again Finn felt the odd heat within his chest. If anything the disappearing embers around her only increased the serenity of the girl before him. His best description for her was that of a goddess. Before he knew it, the human's mind veered off course, taking over the controls in his eyes and moving them down to once again stare at the approaching girl's figure. Finn was once more lost in the flawless curves of the elemental's body, all the way from her hips, to her waist, and even her chest.

A painful fist flew into the hero's face. It was his. His righteous spirit had put its foot down, demanding the young man snap out of it and stop acting like some kind of pervert. Finn shook his head and held his hand up to his chest once more. The slight burning feeling was fading, as were the 'un-righteous' thoughts that moments ago had dislodged his logical thinking.

_What in Grod's name was that!? I would never…! Does this heartburn junk cause some kind of hormone imbalance? Ugh! I've got to pay attention to those darn lectures. I can't act like that with FP, jeez!_

The human thanked the four faced deity that Flame Princess hadn't noticed his wandering eyes. As the girl reached his numb body, the Ancestral Flame returned to its dormant state. FP's hair dropped to her back, restored to its striking red spectrum. Her skin dimmed to the yellowish hue it normally emitted. The fire elemental got to her knees and pulled Finn up to her lap, brushing away the few locks of hair that had been thrown out of the hero's hat.

She smiled at him with a sense of relief, seeing that he was breathing normally and that he was able to return the smile. Clearing his throat, the young human began to speak.

"I'm sorry FP."

The princess was surprised at the choice of words.

"For what Finn? You saved my life back there."

The human brought his gaze to the ceiling of the cave.

"It wasn't this bad when me and Ferrum encountered this gate. We're just good friends, and we knew how to handle each other's fighting styles without any emotional distractions. It might have still been a challenge but at least our heads weren't messed up so badly."

A look of shame appeared on the hero's face, concerning his princess.

"But I should have guessed the gate would use every opportunity to tear into our feelings. Pitting us against the other's copy was especially devastating, as you saw. I shouldn't have put you in this situation, I almost lost you in more ways than one."

Finn began an act that he rarely did. Light tears were slowly running down his slightly burned cheeks. He felt awful for not anticipating the dangers of their relationship during the battle, and now he rested all fault of every injury upon himself.

A gentle finger brushed off the human's sorrow, removing the thin line of salty water racing down his face. Finn looked back at Flame Princess to see her smiling again. She brought the hero closer to her and gave him a reassuring embrace. The young man wished he could return it. After setting him back down, FP replied.

"It's not your fault Finn, they wouldn't make it easy on us to get to the portal. Besides, I think we grew a little stronger together facing our immaturity. Don't you think so?"

As always, his princess knew exactly what to say to bring a positive thought to Finn's mind. The hero smiled as best he could, placing his hand on the fiery girl's cheek.

"I suppose so," he responded in a confident tone.

The two teens were startled by the next event. The colossal mirror in front of them shattered, revealing the path ahead. The couple looked behind them and were instantly shocked. Standing in the gate's mirror were the images of the illusions they had moments ago just defeated. Only this time, something was different.

The two independent reflections were smiling, a humble smile, as if silently thanking the older ones. The two youngsters looked at each other and their smiles grew, taking each other's hand before waving back at their true counterparts. Finn and FP barely managed to shake off their astonishment and smile back at the purified images. As the two waved back at their past selves, the reflections faded away, along with the massive mirror upon which they had existed.

The force field that had formed the second mirror had shifted in color, turning a light green and emanating a peaceful aura. Finn motioned for Flame Princess to help him up. The young queen complied and stretched a flaming arm to quickly retrieve the hero's demon sword before giving it to him for added support. Putting his arm around her shoulder, FP helped the human toward the calming barrier in from of them.

"At the very least, the Gate of Reflection has a sense of mercy."

The fire elemental wondered what Finn mean by that statement but determined that getting the young man to the translucent wall would explain it to her. With a combination of steady steps and limping, the couple reached the barrier, where the human motioned for the young ruler to pass right on through.

As Finn's beaten and burned body slid into the barrier, his wounds were instantly healed. What little damage FP had sustained was also removed. Not only were they free of any cuts and bruises but the two felt revitalized, ready to continue on to the next challenge. Finn slid his blood sword back into his pack and pulled out the ancient scroll. After studying the map for a moment he replaced it and turned to his princess.

"You ready to move on?"

FP nodded, taking Finn's hand and entwining her fingers with his.

"Yes."

* * *

After another patience-testing trek through the hall of the cave, the couple finally saw their next obstacle. The Gate of Repression loomed over them with an ominous aura. The arch was far different from the last. It was extensively degraded, appearing to be crumbling in several spots while its single feature was a bizarre looking orb hanging from its peak. FP stared at the green artifact in wonder. Finn followed her gaze and gulped.

"Well, that's what'll suck us into our minds when we step through."

He was definitely nervous, this much the girl could tell. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Finn, it'll be fine. Together, remember?" She held up her hand, which was bound to the human's.

Finn's expression only turned to a frown.

"That's the thing, inside our own minds, it will be no different than if we were several miles apart."

Flame Princess was shocked at the realization. Unknowingly, her grip on the human's hand tightened. She didn't ever want to be apart from him again. A feeling of dread for the challenge ahead sprouted in her mind. Seeing the girl's distress, Finn shook off his saddened expression and turned to the young queen, raising up her chin with his free hand as he spoke softly.

"Hey, come on, we can do this FP."

He gently placed a kiss on her cheek and stroked the girl's flaming hair. She seemed to lighten up a bit, forcing a smile to her face. Finn reacted by returning the grin.

"Well," the princess began, parting some locks that had fallen across her face. "At least we'll still be together in one way."

She held up their joined hands, making them both smile brighter and press their foreheads together.

"I love you FP."

"I love you too Finn."

Switching to a look of determination, the couple approached the foreboding gate, taking a deep breath before stepping through. Immediately the enchanted arch reacted, releasing a ghostly pulse from the now glowing green orb hanging above the two beings' heads. They fell over onto the ground, as if their minds had been punched out of their skulls. While they remained unmoving, the one noticeable feature of their unconscious forms was the ever present bond shown in their entwined hands.

Flame Princess opened her eyes to find herself tumbling through a large wormhole. Looking around she saw multiple memories of her life passing by in the apparent current the tunnel was creating. Looking ahead made the princess dizzy, nearly hypnotized by the unending path deeper into her subconscious. Eventually, a bright light was seen approaching. FP covered her eyes as the bright essence absorbed her, leaving nothing but white in its place.

Opening her eyes again, the girl found herself stopped in a single point of the tunnel. Before her was an object she knew all too well: the Ancestral Flame. The white source of combusting might suddenly began shifting its form, eventually conforming itself into the apparent shape of a fire elemental. Though it was hard to tell since it was only the silhouette of a humanoid figure, FP determined that the Flame had changed into a female form, which was appropriate considering its background.

"It's good to see you my child."

Flame Princess gasped with astonishment, covering her mouth with her hands. Recovering from initial shock, the fiery ruler pointed at the feminine outline in front of her.

"You! You're that fourth voice from before!"

FP's memory briefly flashed back to the internal argument she was having about herself and Finn. The three voices within her were trying to convince her to let the human go and search for another man to be with, but this fourth had stepped forward and encouraged her to seek him out.

The white entity chuckled a little.

"Ah yes, I was happy to see you make your decision. Given that some time has passed, do you think it was the right one?"

Flame Princess stood straight and proudly.

"I have no doubt."

The ancestral being raised its arms in the air.

"Wonderful! It brings me joy to see the both of you so happy."

The woman brought her arms together in front of her.

"Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to assist you through this trial as much as I can."

She motioned to the wormhole path on the right.

"Through this portal you shall face your fears one at a time, you goal being to confront the inner hauntings of your mind and find peace."

She motioned to the portal on the left.

"Through this one however, I've managed to create a second option. If you choose this portal you will face all your fears simultaneously. Though this choice may seem faster, it will also be far more difficult to accomplish."

The entity took a few steps toward FP, who noticed that they were simply floating in a void with no floor. She chose not to look down.

The Flame's astral projection stopped a few feet from the fiery elemental.

"I'm giving you the choice to perform either option. It's up to you which but you won't escape the Gate of Repression's hold until you confront the nightmares in your mind."

FP thought for a moment and nodded. Before she proceeded though, she took a few steps toward the white figure.

"Before I go, may I ask why you're so intent on keeping me and Finn together?"

The white entity giggled a bit before backing away and slowly dissipating.

"Make it to the Citadel and I might just tell you. Good luck my child."

Flame Princess wanted to interject but the Flame had already vanished. Flustered but knowing she had no way of dealing with it right now, the girl shook off her curiosity and stepped toward the two portals. After taking a long look at both, she dove into the one on the left.

_I can do this. With Finn and the Flame cheering me on in my heart, I'll beat this gate in no time._

* * *

When the portal spit out the princess, she found herself, surprisingly, in an all too familiar place. The sun was shining and a few puffy clouds were scattered across the blue sky. The grasslands brought back warm memories, all of which manifested themselves as she relived them. She saw her and Finn running through the plain, laughing and occasionally tripping and rolling on the grass. The young queen sighed with a smile as she remembered the old days. On her right she saw herself on a distant hill, staring out into a sunset without saying a word.

The princess smiled brightly when she saw the tree fort in front of her, with various memories of her and her hero playing and hanging out around the boy's house. As she shook the rejuvenating pleasant memories out of her head, a look of surprise crossed her face. As the happy memories vanished, she saw the tree house for what it really was in the seemingly peaceful landscape.

What remained of Finn and Jake's home was piled in several heaps of ashes at the top of the hill where it once stood. A few objects where still distinguishable, like the golden coins that were piled in the treasure room, now blackened and nearly unrecognizable. Where the kitchen once stood she could make out the shape of the stove and refrigerator, both ruined. As FP took in every detail of the destruction her despair grew.

It was then that her ears caught a multitude of sobs. She quickly spun around to see a mass gathering of people dressed in black. Before them was a grave, marked with a noble tombstone. Flame Princess's heart dropped when she noticed a familiar object resting against the grey slab of stone: Finn's demon blood sword.

Fear crept into her as the fiery girl rushed to the site. As she appeared near the crowd, they all turned to look at the new arrival. Everyone who knew Finn the Human was present. All had a look of absolute misery on their faces. The broken figure of Jake stepped toward FP and fell to his knees.

"Why, why couldn't you control yourself? Everything is gone now, including my brother."

The yellow canine's eyes began leaking fresh tears, as did everyone else's. FP froze unbelieving at the dog's words and pushed past him to look for herself. As she approached the tombstone, her anguish was confirmed:

**Finn the Human**

**Friend, Hero, and Brother**

**You will be missed but never forgotten**

The fire elemental fell to her hands and knees, feeling tears well up in her eyes. As she began to sob, her mind was unable to remind her that none of it was real. Within a few minutes the princess was lost in a state of grieving. She was only interrupted by a large amount of approaching footsteps. Summoning the strength to turn around, the girl was met with the sight of an entire legion of fire soldiers.

Most terrifying of all was what they had brought with them. Held upon a massive platform was an object that struck absolute terror into the young ruler. The yellow fireproof lantern which had separated her from the world now loomed before her, empty and prepared to contain any fire elemental fated to be thrown into its hollow space. FP cowered on the ground as several fire soldiers approached her and pointed their spears at her.

"Flame Princess, ruler of the Fire Kingdom, for the death of Finn the Human, you have been deemed too dangerous and unstable to walk the earth freely."

Two of the soldiers stepped forward and quickly locked two braces around the girl's wrists. She attempted to blast the men away, but to her horror, her fire powers had been negated. Helplessly kicking and screaming, the terrified princess was dragged top the lantern that was now lowered to the ground and open. She was swiftly tossed into the prison and the doors shut behind her.

Standing up with great effort, she placed her hands on the glass, only to see the miserable faces of all the people that had been hurt by the loss of Ooo's greatest hero. Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, BMO, Lady Rainicorn, the candy people, all the princesses, countless other citizens of Ooo. All were giving the girl a pleading look, wordlessly asking why the fiery ruler why she had committed such a heinous deed. Even the Ice King was present, sadly holding his crown in his hands with closed eyes and streams of tears from his closed eyes.

Flame Princess turned away, devastated at the scene. As she continued her weeping, the fire soldiers lifted up the lamp once more and began walking back to the Fire Kingdom. As the legion made its way to the blazing peaks of the kingdom, dark storm clouds gathered in the sky instantly, followed by crashing thunder and crackling lightning. Before long, a heavy downpour commenced. FP now noticed that the top of the lantern had a much larger opening than she remembered.

The rain began to pound every inch of the grasslands. Strangely enough, none of the fiery soldiers were being affected. The princess on the other hand, began feeling the distinct stings of water hitting her body. As the storm only grew more intense, the drops grew bigger, fell faster, and came in greater numbers. Each second was filled with agony as buckets worth of liquid splashed onto the helpless girl. She collapsed to the floor of her prison, which had a grate in the bottom to allow the water to drain out.

_It won't let the water gather and submerge me, this is to torment, not kill. _

Sobbing of both inner and outer pain, FP lost herself in the swirling chaos that was her fear. All of it had been thrown in her face at once, combined in the worst possible way to truly destroy the teenager's sanity. Feeling herself slipping away, the girl barely noticed a tiny white flame that appeared before her face.

"Flame Princess, you can't give up! If you allow yourself to die here you will be trapped in the deepest part of your mind forever! Please, you must fight back!"

The Flame's plea went unanswered and it dissipated, unable to manifest for very long in the maelstrom of misery and woe that existed in the girl's subconscious. FP looked up into the sky. The roof of the world was solid black. It seemed impossible for her to continue. She slowly lost herself in darkness as her eyes closed.

* * *

A faint echo was heard in the back of Flame Princess's mind. She struggled to open her vision. She still had her head facing up, but this time all she saw was a red tinted roof made of stone. Recognizing the material, FP slowly tilted her head to the side and saw that she was suspended in the throne room, still held within the lantern. Defeated and without hope, the girl lay there. The pain had stopped, there was nothing but silence, except for the faint echo which kept springing into her ears. She attempted to listen closely and made out words.

"_What?"_

A pause.

"_Good morning FP."_

"_Good morning Finn."_

The princess's attention shot up, reanimating her body as if something had restarted her heart. The girl dragged herself to the edge of her prison and looked down, encountering her favorite memory that happened within this room.

An image of Finn and herself were standing near the throne, standing close together as the human passionately kissed the girl on the lips. The brilliant flames of the manifested princess grew white as the young man placed a hand to the girl's cheek, who did the same with him. From her perch above the scene, Flame Princess found herself growing a smile as tears came to her eyes. This moment was among her most treasured, mainly because secretly, she wanted this to be the norm if Finn accepted her offer to rule beside her. To every morning sit down in her throne while her king joined her in his own seat. They would lean across their seats of power and share a sweet kiss before taking on the day's work and challenges, together.

_Together…_

A loud crack rang through the room. FP broke out of her loving thoughts and looked around for the source of the noise. A massive fissure had appeared in the ground of the throne room. Through it radiated a bright light. A delicate feeling of happiness could be felt from it by the princess high above.

_Fight back. Fight back with the fire in my heart. I have the two greatest beings of love and support by my side, always, no matter how distant they might be. _

Two brief manifestations appeared alongside the fiery girl in the lamp. Both had a hand on her shoulders. One was Finn, giving and encouraging smile. The other was the humanoid form of the Ancestral Flame. FP looked at both then observed the yellow glass in front of her, nodding with determination. The two images nodded as well and vanished.

Flame Princess walked up to the tempered surface that imprisoned her.

"Thanks to Finn, I never had to step inside you again, thanks to Finn, I proved I am in control."

With that statement, she swung a strong fist at the glass, which shattered to pieces at the impact. A few more fissures appeared on the floor and a few on the walls. FP jumped down from her destroyed cell and landed on the ground hard. She slammed her wrists together and broke the suppressive braces off of her arms. Before long, legions of fire guards stormed the room, aiming their weapons at the princess.

Having no time to deal with them, she simply shot straight into the air and blasted her way through the floors of the palace, breaking several stone platforms until she blasted through the roof of the building. Outside was a bizarre sight. Instead of the Fire Kingdom, there was a long tunnel that went straight up.

_The deepest part of my mind. No way out huh? We'll see about that!_

Concentrating extreme heat and pressure below her, FP released a monstrous burst of energy with her Ancestral Flame, skyrocketing up the deep pit that led to higher levels of her mind. As she raced up the hole, light eventually shown at the top. Determined, the girl boosted her speed more and made a strong push for the entrance to the pit.

Bursting out of the miles deep cavern, FP quickly looked around and saw Finn's grave site in the distance. She changed direction and sped toward it. A slight sting caught her off guard. Looking up, she encountered the blackened sky once again. A mass of rain suddenly poured form the clouds, aiming to slam the elemental back down the pit.

Flame Princess smirked and unleashed the full fury of the white flame within her, evaporating any water within several feet of her skin. Concentrating energy deep in her body, the fiery girl then let loose a cataclysmic pillar of flames. The towering inferno vaporized the dark shroud above her, leaving the sky once again clear, the sun happily shining down upon the victorious young queen. Several enormous fissures opened up in the grasslands around her.

With that done, she continued her way toward her hero's resting place. As FP neared the ground, she decelerated and landed right in front of the recently buried plot. Without hesitation, she began digging the grave out with her hands, throwing heaps of dirt everywhere. By the time she made it to the coffin below her she couldn't feel her hands. Regardless, she threw aside the cover of the box and peered inside.

Finn lay peacefully in his casket, his arms gently crossed across his chest. FP quickly placed her hand against his heart and pushed, sending a blast of inner heat into the young man's silent organ. As if reigniting a flame, a steady beat grew from the human's chest. Next, Flame Princess leaned in and pressed her lips against the hero's, forcing air into his empty lungs. She remained at his mouth longer than necessary, caught in the moment, but soon snapped out of it and backed away, holding her hands to Finn's cheeks.

After several agonizing minutes, FP saw the human's chest begin to rise and fall. Tears fell down her face as deep blue eyes appeared from underneath the young man's lids. He was astonished but quickly shook it off.

"Flame Princess!"

Finn embraced the girl tightly within his arms, not daring to let go. The princess returned the hug with the same intent. They remained in each other's hold so long they lost track of time. Finally, the girl spoke.

"I would never hurt you Finn, I love you so much."

The human broke the embrace to look his princess in the eyes with a smile.

"I know you wouldn't. I love you too FP."

With that, they leaned in for a true kiss, feeling each other's real skin, with no need for protection. Before Flame Princess knew it, the ground began to rumble. She opened her eyes and pulled out of the kiss. Finn gave her one last smile before he faded away. FP shot out of the grave and flew up into the sky. All around her cracks were forming in the earth, producing more and more light until the world below her vanished from the glare. A few seconds later, a massive shattering sound was shot through the air, deafening the princess of flames, who covered her ears as her vision was blinded by the light.

* * *

Flame Princess awoke with a start, breathing irregularly as she clutched her chest. Looking around, she found herself in the cave, the Gate of Repression towering above her, its glowing orb still active. She shook off the experience she had after remembering Finn. The human was still unconscious and had his face in a pained and contorted expression. FP felt her hand being squeezed. They were still together, the whole time.

The girl smiled before noticing the Ancestral Flame surround the two of them. The princess put a hand to the young man's cheek, concern growing on her face as she watched her man struggling with the gate's trial.

"I had the Flame, but he's got no one in there to help him. What can I do?"

The white ribbons of fire concentrated along Finn's backpack, attracting the fiery ruler's attention. She reached over and opened the pack. Rummaging around inside, she looked for anything that she could use to help the suffering human. After a few minutes, she came upon a pouch full of a smooth and loose substance. Opening and sprinkling a bit onto her hand, FP discovered it was Sleep Powder. She knew this since Finn told her about his and Jake's journey into Marceline's memory after being tricked by her ex-boyfriend.

"This is it, this will let me help Finn."

Excitement grew upon the princess's face as the Ancestral Flame did a quick display of activity before returning to her. She carefully dragged Finn to the side of the cave and laid him against the smoothest part of the rock she could find. She then gently laid next to him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Hold on Finn, I'm coming."

With that, she threw a handful of the powder in her face, quickly losing consciousness and diving after the human into his mind.

* * *

Unlike her own journey into sub consciousness, Finn's was relatively short and ended with her standing in an absolutely empty plain. It appeared to comprise of space itself, with twinkling stars and nebulas shining in the distance. Even a comet streaked by. The single visible object was a massive hedron structure, each face having five sides. FP understood immediately what it was: Finn's Vault. What else would require such a complex object to contain the human's deepest fears?

Taking a deep breath, the princess approached the container, looking around for an entrance. She found none, even after flying around the entire surface of the object. Frustrated, the fiery girl punched one of the Vault's walls, earning several sore knuckles in the process. Floating back down to the ground, she sat down, bringing her knees to her chin.

_Dang it. I'm so close, how do I get in there?_

The young queen was too distracted to notice someone approaching. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, the elemental nearly jumped out of her skin. Quickly turning around with a fiery fist of blue flames, she gazed at the person who had startled her. It was a girl. She had long black hair flowing behind her, slanted yellow eyes, and very fair greenish skin.

The girl smiled at FP, not at all intimidated by the girl's flames. It was then that the princess saw the girl's right arm. It was mechanical.

"Who, who are you?"

The girl held out her flesh arm, urging Flame Princess for a handshake.

"I'm Shoko," she said, holding her smile. "You must be Flame Princess."

FP accepted the shake and then stared with astonishment at the girl before her.

"Why are you in Finn's mind? I've never seen you before, and Finn definitely never mentioned you."

Shoko started to laugh, confusing FP further. She waited patiently for the black haired girl to stop her amusement, which she did after a few more moments.

"Haha, I'll bet he hasn't. He probably thought you'd laugh too."

The princess just stood there with a blank stare. Shoko placed her mechanical arm against her chest.

"I'm Finn's past life. When I died I was reincarnated as him."

The fiery ruler was stunned.

"Ha! I knew that would get you. Yeah Finn had me locked in the Vault a while back, he was repressing my memory. I just wanted his help to redeem myself for stealing something from Princess Bubblegum."

At this information FP jumped.

"Wait, you've been in the Vault? Could you show me how to get in?"

Shoko gave a friendly nod.

"Sure, follow me."

The girl led Flame Princess to one side of the hedron and knocked on the massive wall in three different places. Almost immediately, several panels opened in the side, creating a doorway through which FP could step into the Vault. Shoko gave the fiery princess a pat on the back.

"Good luck. Finn went in there a few hours ago but never came out."

Thanking the young thief, FP walked into the void that led to Finn's fears.

* * *

The innards of Finn's prison for fears were rather simplistic, or at the least very straight forward. A basic path led right ahead, with no other possible ways to go. Flame Princess giggled a bit.

_I forgot Finn had a terrible imagination._

Continuing down the path, FP came to a coastline. Beyond was an expansive ocean which disappeared into the horizon. Many fissures could be seen along the beach, each one producing a bright light.

_Ok, I at least know he's fighting back._

She stopped walking just before the waves would start hitting her feet. Gazing out into the open water, FP thought for a moment what it symbolized. Then she remembered this was, as far as anyone could tell, Finn's greatest fear. Sighing at the fact that the young man remained terrified of a body of water, the princess fired herself off the beach, heading out into the wide expanse of liquid. She had to admit though, flying over this much of the substance made her nervous about falling too far.

Eventually, after miles of drifting over the apparently endless body, Flame Princess spotted an object floating on the water. Quickly changing her path of flight, she shot herself at the anomaly. Getting closer, she saw that it was a makeshift raft, and lying upon it was none other than Finn, albeit on his back, looking totally freaked out. Descending to the raft, Flame Princess was careful to land so as to not tip it into the waters below.

Finn was startled by the appearance of the princess, nearly falling off his craft.

"FP!? How the nuts did you get in here?"

The fiery girl ran to hug the hero. Unfortunately, as soon as she embraced him, he began to burn up.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

She released her hold on him and backed away disappointed. Finn examined his burns but decided to shrug them off.

"Sorry FP but if where both in the same subconscious you can still burn me."

The girl was a little disheartened but quickly shook it off, remembering why she was there.

"Finn, it's been a while, why haven't you gotten out yet?"

The human sat back down, looking out into the ocean.

"Well, I started out doing pretty good. I let myself be kissed to death by a bunch of clown nurses, fought off the Lich, and carried you through a rainstorm to safety before you burned out."

He brought his head down.

"But then I got dropped in the middle of the ocean, and that's just too much."

Flame Princess was skeptical.

"So you'll take on a dead guy several times your size who shoots green fire but you can't jump into a little water?"

Finn looked at the fire elemental with hopelessness.

"It's not that easy! I just…I don't know…I've never gotten past this fear, ok?"

This time FP was really confused.

"But then, how did you make it through the Gate of Repression the first time?"

Finn blushed of embarrassment.

"I, I took out my memory of the ocean. I went into my head and yanked it before stepping through the gate."

The princess sat down next to the human, just far enough to not burn him.

"Then why didn't you do it this time?"

Finn looked at the young queen with sadness, but also a touch of shame.

"Because I, I didn't want to take the easy way out, for you."

FP was first shocked, then touched. She smiled at the hero with a little admiration.

"Remind me to give you a kiss when we get back from the Citadel. I mean, you know, besides the others I would probably give you."

She blushed at that point, as did Finn. But it wasn't enough to get him over the fear right in front of him.

"Well from how it's going now, I won't ever escape my mind. I'll be trapped here forever."

Flame Princess hated to admit it but it was true. Until Finn could face the ocean they would both be unable to leave the Vault. She stood up and wandered to the other side of the raft, crossing her arms in thought. She remembered that the Flame had helped her realize that the good memories of Finn could help her escape, but how could she do the same for the young man?

FP stared into the water in front of her, seeing her reflection in the calm waters. A nagging question popped into her mind. The one that had slipped in the day she found out Finn's true feelings for her.

_He will give you everything he has just so you'll be happy, what are you going to do about it?_

FP looked over at Finn, still shuddering from the sight of the ocean, and then back into the water. The young queen grew a face of determination, realizing the only way she could get Finn to conquer his fear.

"I shall do the same."

Finn turned at the statement.

"What?"

His eyes grew wide with shock as Flame Princess allowed herself to fall into the waters below, creating a mixed sound of splashes and singing flames.

* * *

**_I got a little carried away with this one. Hope you guys don't mind. _**

**_Also, this fic is officially the longest thing I've ever written. Epic. Later._**

**_next:_**Chapter 10: Return to the Citadel, Part 3


	10. Chapter 10: Return to the Citadel Part 3

Chapter 10: Return to the Citadel, Part 3

Numbing, dark, cold, but, somehow peaceful. These are the words FP used to mentally describe the feeling of drowning after the initial 'burning' pain of falling into the ocean. Her eyes had remained closed the whole time, not wanting to make herself panic but instead imagining that she was gently floating down into the abyss with no harm whatsoever. As if simply falling through the sky, enjoying the silent moment that the water around her produced.

While the thinking was a nice distraction from the sense of dying, it didn't stop the fiery girl from growing worry in her mind. She'd been falling for what seemed like several minutes and had yet to feel anything grab her by the arm or waist to save her. A fear struck in her thoughts. Perhaps she was wrong and Finn was unable to conquer his despair of the open water. Maybe he was still up there, sitting on his raft, balling his eyes out because he couldn't push himself to dive into the ocean, even to save the girl her loves.

A small trickle of steam began to float up from the dimming princess's face. Lava tears were leaking out of her eyes as she felt grief fill her heart.

_Was Finn really not able to do it? Will we be stuck in his Vault for all time?_

A strong force hit Flame Princess's chest. At first she thought her heart had finally given out and her lungs had burst but instead the force began pushing her. After a moment of sinking further into the depths the object changed direction and curved upward, pulling FP with it back toward the surface.

_Oh no! Don't tell me I'm actually dying instead of going to a deeper part of Finn's mind. If I really have to head to Glob World_ _and leave him all alone, then better to be there with my man._

The thoughts of abandonment were quickly swept away as the fire elemental felt a set of lips pressing against hers. It wasn't a kiss however, for the moment they forced the girl's mouth open a blast of oxygen was pushed down her throat and into her badly deprived organs. FP felt a little life force return to her. She wanted to open her eyes and see for herself, but her special connection with both an ancient flame and a certain human gave her all the proof she needed to smile weakly with whatever energy she had left before passing out from the crushing water around her.

Flame Princess gasped suddenly, shooting open her eyes and erratically pointing her pupils in all directions. All she managed to see was the sky and a blurry form above her. Realizing she was laying down, the young queen attempted to sit up, only to be tightly embraced by two fleshy arms. The fiery girl was first surprised before understanding what was happening. She returned the hug, proud that Finn had in fact broken through his despair and rescued here from the churning waters below.

The young man held FP back a bit, staring into her eyes with a look of mixed relief and concern.

"What were you thinking FP!? Why would you do that?"

Though not visible on his face, the elemental could tell from his voice that he was also upset with her. All she could do however, was smile again, lifting what she believed was her arm to place a hand on the hero's cheek. She still couldn't feel any part of her body. The skin of her hand was a dull shade of orange.

"It was the only way I could think of, for you to beat your fear." Her voice was weak.

Finn shook his head.

"I can't just beat a fear with another fear, that doesn't count."

The princess looked around, noticing the coastline that she had left behind earlier. They must have drifted a ways, meaning she'd been unconscious for a while. Disappointment crept into her face seeing that no more fissures had appeared along the sandy beach. Finn helped the girl sit up, while at the same time rubbing her arms to try to warm her up. It did little and the fire elemental began to shiver. Desperately searching around for a way to help his lady recover, Finn stood up and looked to the coast.

Putting his hand above his eyes to block out the glare of the sun, the human noticed a bright flickering by the beach. Squinting his eyes, he was astonished to see that it was a raging bonfire, built up of what seemed to be pieces of a ship. Excited by the object, Finn returned to FP's side and comforted her.

"Hey FP, there's a big fire over there that could help you re-ignite. I'm gonna get out and drag us over there faster so hold on ok?"

Before the girl could answer he had jumped into the water and grabbed the side of the raft with his left arm, using the other to paddle the craft to shore. He was smiling the whole way, glad that his mind had produced something helpful for once, unlike the time when he was imprisoned in the King Worm's false dreamscape and turned a powerful sword into a shark's head.

Before long, the human could feel the bottom of the ocean with his feet and began walking slowly underwater. Glancing up to check on the princess, he was surprised by the look of shock on her face. Concerned, Finn stopped walking and stared at the girl.

"What's wrong FP?"

The young queen pointed at the liquid surrounding the hero and answered.

"You're, you're in the ocean!"

The human looked to the surface of the gentle waves crashing against his chest. He too became shocked, but strangely enough, he didn't react.

"Huh. Weird. I don't feel like freaking the math out."

The princess crawled over to her boyfriend and looked him over. He just stood there, over half submerged in his apparent greatest fear. His face was one of slight confusion. It was then that the fiery girl noticed his eyes. She had seen Finn scared before, his pupils dilated and the dark depths of the holes exhibited nothing but panic. Now however, they were utterly calm. Flame Princess smiled with realization.

"It did work Finn, you were so distracted with helping me that your mind discovered the water in the ocean is no different than that of a lake or sea. You're totally calm right now, not all jumpy and flailing your arms."

The young man's blue eyes widened. He then returned his attention to the body of water, closing off his vision and feeling the gentle push and pull of the waves that created a slow but soothing rhythm. A grin could be felt growing on his face.

"It's…nice," he said thoughtfully.

Flame Princess giggled. Finn also let out a small chuckle then looked back at FP. He leaned over and plucked the fire elemental off of the raft, carefully holding her well above the water. Proceeding to the bonfire just ahead, the two teens noticed several new fissures breaking apart the inner space of the Vault. Blinding light was shooting in all directions, nearly making Finn lose track of his destination.

Eventually though, he made it to the flames, holding his princess tightly in his arms. She had warmed up a little by now and he could feel his skin growing tender. Refusing to hurry the action just because of a little discomfort, the human gently lay the fiery girl into the fire, which instantly reacted, surrounding her like a new source of fuel. Instead of course, the fire elemental quickly absorbed the revitalizing heat, giving her the strength to stand up and face her hero.

The couple smiled at each other as the Vault continued to crack around them.

"Thanks FP, I couldn't have done it without you."

The princess of flames giggled again.

"Of course dummy, we're in this together, no matter what."

With the final line spoken, the light overwhelmed both their fields of view, producing a white void before a violent shattering was echoed throughout the space.

* * *

The two awoke in an instant, fluttering open their eyes and bringing them to face one another's gaze. Flame Princess was still leaning on the human's shoulder. He was happy that even though he couldn't feel the girl's true warmth, at the least there was no burning. As they smiled once more, the fiery ruler let out a yawn, to which the young man let out a small laugh. FP gave him a friendly nudge in the stomach and snuggled up closer to the hero, laying her head into the crook of his neck.

"How long do you think we've been in here?"

Finn stared at the orb hanging from the Gate of Repression, which had grown dark and inactive. He then found himself letting out a long yawn.

"I don't know exactly, but my best guess tells me it's dark outside by now. And we haven't slept for a long time. Maybe we could just rest here for a bit before taking on the last gate."

FP readjusted her head a bit, then placed her arm around Finn's abdomen, holding him closer.

"That sounds nice, I could use some sleep, and some nice dreams to clear out all the nightmares we dealt with today."

Finn placed a light kiss on the gem atop the girl's forehead before slightly moving his arm to reach around her waist and pull her even closer. He let out a deep sigh, staring out into the walls of the cave. They had made it this far and nothing would stop them from passing the final obstacle, the Gate of Revelation.

As the human looked around, his limp arm began to fall down FP's side, until is softly fell onto her thigh. Before quickly removing his hand from what he considered 'out-of-bounds', the ominous heat in Finn's heart reemerged, causing the hero to reach up and grip his chest. He still couldn't feel any of it from the outside.

_Dang it! This is getting really annoying, when is this junk going to pass already?_

"Why do you resist? She is **your **princess after all."

Finn jumped at the deep voice, only soon to realize it was coming from inside his own head.

_Who the crud are you!?_

An edgy laugh filled the young man's skull, who placed his hand to his forehead.

"Hahaha. Why must you remain so restrained Finn? You deserve a little 'reward' for the glorious victory over the opponent you slayed today."

The human thought back to fighting his reflection. The various cuts they inflicted on each other, the dirty fighting style he had to deal with, and finally, throwing his sword right into the copy's sternum, paralyzing and ultimately ending him.

_You think I enjoyed that?! You think I wanted to kill that kid?! You're sick, what kind of monster would willingly cut down his own previous self?_

A numbing pulse shot through Finn's body, suddenly filling his veins with a burning sensation. His right hand flung back onto Flame Princess's upper leg, beginning to slowly rub it. The human reacted like lightning, shoving himself away from the sleeping elemental, who was luckily too exhausted to awaken.

She did however, start falling over from the lack of support of her hero's shoulder. Finn slid back momentarily to catch her and quickly laid her back against a stable part of the rock wall. Afterward, he scooted a good distance away from her, looking genuinely frightened. The grim laugh had returned.

"HAHAHA! Stop lying to yourself Finn, just give in, you know you want her."

The human wished he could vomit at the suggestion the voice had spoken of.

_You disgusting freak! I would never…EVER...even think to violate FP! Get the heck out of my head and stop messing with my stupid hormones!_

The human stood up and ran at one of the sides of the crumbling gate. With expert agility, he climbed up the arch and jumped at the silent orb, gripping the ancient rope keeping the artifact suspended. He then proceeded to bang his fist against its surface.

"Hey! Send me back in ya butt!"

As if displaying its irritation at the young man, the orb flashed momentarily and punched the human back with a blast of green energy, sending him crashing to the ground. Finn groaned from his aching back but quickly forgot about it as his world grew dim, replaced by a spiraling wormhole of red and yellow.

As disorienting as it was, the hero could hear the dreaded laugh in the distance.

"Coming for me are you? Ha! I am you Finn, how could you even think to go against your own body?"

The young man clenched his fists.

"Shut up jerk face! You don't belong in my head and you certainly don't belong in my heart!"

Coming out of the wormhole, Finn found himself in a manifested plain of the Fire Kingdom. Before him was the palace, void of any inhabitants or activity, save for a diamond shaped flame at the top of the structure. The hero charged at the building and began climbing its walls, coming closer and closer to the cackling laugh of the voice that was haunting him.

Reaching the roof, the human glared at the symmetrical fire floating before him. It was a deep orange in color, with stray ribbons of combustion being sinisterly flicked off of its body. The entire object had an aura of well, evil, as Finn put it. He took a step forward, pointing an accusing finger at the flames.

"I don't care what you are or how you got into me, but until I figure this stuff out, you'll be spending this time in the Vault!"

The fire grew significantly as the vile laughter continued.

"You think that psychological prison can hold me? Please Finn, I know you are no fool. Why waste so much of your energy sealing a part of yourself away? You'll need all your strength to face the final gate, and even more when you finally have the princess all to yourself."

Finn had had enough. From behind his back he produced a large water balloon, which he viciously threw at the fire. The mysterious entity screamed in pain at the impact of the liquid upon its form. The human didn't let up. After a few seconds of concentration, he warped the world around them, turning the kingdom into an endless expanse on water, of which Finn and the flame were hovering over. As the fiery consciousness recovered from its injury, a massive shadow consumed it and the surrounding area.

"Have fun against my newest ally, you donkus," Finn stated with a smirk.

The flame spun around, terrified at the enormous tidal wave that bared down upon it. With a final shout of fear, the fire disappeared under the endless mass of ocean water, entirely consumed by raging waves. Satisfied with silencing the suggestive menace, Finn took a deep breath and concentrated once more.

_It's done, could you let me out please?_

A bright light consumed the dreamscape, shattering it a few seconds later. Finn woke up staring straight above him, the mesmeric orb losing its verdant glow. Slowly pulling himself off the ground, the human rubbed his back and looked over at Flame Princess. She was peacefully slumbering against the wall, a smile drawn on her face.

The young man couldn't help but smile as well, knowing his princess was having good dreams. At first the human began walking toward the sleeping fire elemental, but stopped and felt his chest. The heat was gone. He was relieved but didn't continue approaching the young queen.

_I should at least keep some space between us right now. I deserve to get a little detention_ _from her. _

Still overshadowed by shame at what the strange voice had forced his body to do, Finn quietly lay down on the ground a few feet from where FP was snoozing. Before he knew it, the hero's eyes fell shut and he passed out, not realizing how exhausted he was.

From within the human's Vault however, a vile laugh could be heard, weak, but growing by the minute.

_Soon enough Finn, you will learn to embrace your evil, HAHAHA!_

* * *

Flame Princess woke up gracefully, slowly opening her eyes and stretching out her arms, followed by a large yet soft yawn. After readjusting her vision, her senses picked up something out of place. She looked next to her to see that Finn was absent from her side. Saddened, FP looked around the cave and spotted the young man lying on his side a short distance away from her. He looked peaceful, making the girl wonder how he had ended up so far away from her embrace.

She walked over and sat back down next to him, caressing his cheek with the back of her hand. The ruler remained there for several minutes until the human eventually cracked his eyes open and began shaking off his feeling of grogginess. His gaze found FP's, who was silently beside him with a gentle smile upon her face.

"Morning sleepy head."

The hero couldn't help but grin back at the beautiful fire elemental.

"Morning Little Ms. Crazy."

The young queen playfully shoved Finn's shoulder, causing him to flip onto his back, which still hurt. Naturally, Flame Princess noticed the look of pain across her boyfriend's face.

"Finn, are you hurt?"

The hero attempted an unconvincing chuckle.

"No I'm fine FP. It's probably just the really uncomfortable ground. I bet I'm stiff as a board right now."

The fiery girl helped Finn sit up, supporting him with an arm around his back.

"How did you get all the way over here?"

For this very type of situation, Finn had learned to be an expert at lying, courtesy of Jake. He put on a mild look of confusion and looked to the spot where the couple had fallen asleep the previous night.

"Huh. I guess I must still sleepwalk now and then."

He looked to the princess.

"Sorry FP."

The elemental just smiled.

"It's fine Finn. I'm just glad you didn't accidentally wander off to the next gate on your own."

They shared a laugh while Finn thought about his fib. He remembered suddenly that they were still in the Fire Kingdom, meaning he had broken the law. This revelation made him frown a bit mentally, but he swore that when he learned more about the strange voice he would tell her the whole thing, no matter how embarrassing it would be.

Standing up, Finn cracked his back and neck a few times, giving some truth to what he had told the princess. FP joined him and offered him her hand.

"Ready?"

Finn took a second but then firmly grasped the girl's glowing appendage. He focused quickly on his heart. There was no heat. He breathed a sigh of relief then nodded. The two then proceeded further into the cave, leaving behind the degraded form of the Gate they had overcome.

After the expected long walk through endless walls of torches, they soon found themselves approaching what appeared to be piles of irregular objects fallen against the walls of the cavern. Finn stopped their advance, earning a look of concern from Flame Princess.

"What is it Finn?"

The human looked gravely at the scene ahead before turning to his lady.

"Those who fail to pass the Gate of Reflection are said to be absorbed into the mirror and become a reflection themselves. Those who fail the Gate of Repression are sucked into the mystifying orb that hangs from it. But those who are unable to pass the Gate of Revelation are stranded, left to perish at their own inability to overcome their weakness."

He looked back to the path before them.

"If you can't handle what you see, just close your eyes, I almost did the first time I was here."

Flame Princess stared at the solemn look upon the human's face for a moment before tightening her grip on his hand and nodding.

"Ok, let's go."

Finn allowed them to continue, coming upon the site which had been predicted. FP brought her other hand to her mouth, unable to keep it closed from the shock and despair she observed. On either side of the path lay dozens of skeletons, bodies, and various weapons and armor. The clothes that had yet to crumble to dust revealed individuals from all manner of social classes. There were knights, simple villagers, wizards, and even what appeared to be a prince. The small golden crown upon his head did little to improve the empty feeling that one experienced by staring into his empty eye sockets.

FP struggled to swing her vision around the graveyard of solace and misery. Each step the two teens took brought new stories to their minds as they examined the beings who had dared challenge the Gate before them. The young queen noticed that several of the motionless forms had a sword stuck through the chest, their stiff hands or bones clutching the hilt. She could easily guess what had transpired.

The girl pushed herself against Finn, placing her other arm tightly around the hero's and closing her eyes. He comforted her, reaching over to place his free hand on her upper arm, giving the appearance that he was cradling her.

After finally clearing the corridor of death, they came upon the source of all the suffering that lay behind. The Gate of Revelation stood before them, an intimidating arch carved out of shiny black rock. Upon its peak was engraved a single word, which instantly shifted form as the two attempted to decipher it, rearranging into a language the young couple could read.

**Believe**

Finn and Flame Princess looked at each other, a few nerves planted on both their faces. Nevertheless, they held up their entwined hands and nodded.

"This might be the hardest thing you've ever done FP. There is no questioning it, this Gate can and will kill you if you don't make it through."

The girl leaned forward and placed a peck on the hero's cheek.

"As long as we're together, I don't care."

Giving a light smile, Finn faced the arch, FP doing the same. With one last deep breath, they both stepped through the towering barrier of black rock. The moment they did, two beams of energy fell over them. In an instant, Finn's flame shield was stripped off of his body, as was the princess's Ancestral Flame. Finn was forced to release his hand from that of the princess. The beams drew the two objects to the arch, where they were then suspended in matching transparent orbs.

Finn stared at the spheres with frustration.

"No cheating, we can't use anything besides our own will."

Flame Princess's nervousness grew tenfold. The ancient fire had been her security, just like Finn. It was as if a dear friend had been torn away from her. Noticing the disheartened elemental, the hero turned to her with a hopeful smile.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine up there. Once we're out the Gate will give us back what it took."

FP was still shaken but nodded.

"Alright."

The path before them was suddenly lit up, revealing the true depth of the arch. It went back several hundred feet into the cave, the whole way covered by the same glossy dark stone. As they gazed at the tunnel ahead, it began to shift and warp. Before long, the cavern had been morphed into a gauntlet, incorporating the very elementals that tortured the two teenagers and kept them from being truly together: Fire and water.

Finn briefly reached into his pack and brought out the bottle of Cyclops tears, showing it to Flame Princess.

"The second we get to the other side, pour some of this onto me, if you're not fast enough, I'll be gone."

FP was outright frightened now. What if she couldn't react quick enough? Ferrum was an experienced individual, he had probably healed Finn's burns with expert timing when the two of them had gone through this gate the first time, likely ignoring whatever pain he himself had endured. But Flame Princess could easily be overcome by the torrent of liquid that would mercilessly beat down on her as she made her way through the tunnel.

Finn saw the look of self-distrust upon the fiery girl's face and placed his hand on her shoulder, causing it to start smoking slightly. He smiled through it and motioned for the princess to look back to the top of the arch.

**Believe**

Removing the human's hand from her scorching skin, FP put on a brave face. Finn held his smile.

"We'll protect each other as best we can, that way, we're sure to get out."

Nodding once more, the young ruler turned back to the gauntlet with her man beside her. Without a second thought, they dashed forward, coming up to a section of ground that was bursting with flames while a thunderous artificial storm rained down upon it from above. Neither force was dispelling the other. Before FP could resist, Finn pulled her into his arms and ran into the hazards, trying his best to shield the girl's body from the pouring rain.

The flames lashed at the hero's legs, creating blisters all over his unprotected skin. In addition, the fire elemental he was holding was slowly burning through his chest, causing more pain. He didn't care. All that mattered was protecting his princess and making it through the torturous obstacle course.

As a new region was coming up fast, Flame Princess spoke up.

"Finn, that's lava! Put me down, it's my turn to get you across."

Reluctantly, the human set FP down, taking a quick look up and down her to see if she was injured by the water. He was thankful to see there was no harm done, for now. It was then that his legs snapped him back to current events, collapsing from the immense pain the blisters were causing. Flame Princess quickly caught young man, hauling him onto her back and making sure his legs were suspended above the level of the molten rock.

As the princess trudged through the space of boiling magma, the interminable rain began striking the exposed parts of her skin. Luckily, Finn's large form was blocking any harm to her back, in exchange for him continuously being burned by the fire elemental's heat. It was a cruel choice but there was no other way. The painful stings of the water droplets against her face and arms made it almost unbearable to move ahead, but she didn't dare stop, knowing that Finn's clock had already started running.

Making it back to solid ground, she settled Finn back to the ground. The hero was half unconscious due to his scorched body but remained standing as he took hold of FP and lifted her above his head. Flame Princess sighed.

_It would've been easier to carry him if he didn't have all that big heavy muscle on him._

Realizing what she'd said to herself, the young queen blushed. Finn, meanwhile, made his way into the waist deep river that marked the next stage of the gauntlet. He was extra careful to balance the precious cargo above him as balls of fire began to hurl at him from either side. His agility, even in the deep water, was remarkable, as he managed to avoid nearly all the shots that were sent at him. Some however, nailed him in the back, chest, and a few even on his arms. These were the most critical, as one mistake at refortifying his burned appendage would tip over Flame Princess and send her into the pool of liquid below. The constant burning of Finn's hands didn't help either, causing much discomfort, as if he were holding a boiling tea kettle.

The worst of it was when a chunk of flames hit him square in the cheek, causing him to stumble heavily. Although he did his best, FP's legs slid into the water momentarily. The scream generated by the fiery girl was all the motivation he needed to reestablish his footing and make his way to the edge of the water, where he quickly placed the fire elemental on the ground and took a moment to rest, only to react to his new charred flesh.

FP looked up to see that her protector had grown exceptionally woozy, unable to stand without tilting dangerously back and forth. Shock rose in her eyes as she saw a massive wall of lava accelerating toward the couple. Ahead of them was a section of the tunnel forming multiple thick waterfalls. Remembering Finn's limited time, the girl snatched him into her arms and did the only thing she could to escape the wave of magma behind them.

Morphing into her full flame form, FP surrounded Finn with her fire as she shot herself into the first waterfall, decelerating her rapidly. The second cut her speed in half again, the third nearly threw her to the ground. Her oxygen supply fading rapidly, the princess put all her effort into blasting through the final liquid barrier, which she hadn't noticed was much more solid than the first three.

Unable to breath but refusing to die for nothing, the young queen scrambled through the pouring water in her normal form, now dragging her unconscious hero on the ground. The wall of lava had caught up to them again, which horrified the fading fire elemental. With her final breath, Flame Princess threw Finn as far as she could, feeling the wall of molten rock smack into her and send her after the young man.

Both teens tumbled across the dirt, finally stopping on normal earth. Behind them the magma wave had slammed into an invisible force field, preventing the deadly liquid from further harassing the two. FP opened her eye to see that they had made it past the Gate's tunnel. Before losing consciousness, she felt the light of the arch's beam slide over her.

As all went black, the princess couldn't help but feel failure. Without anyone else to revive the poor human, he would die from his extensive injuries, which were partially her fault.

The desperation did not take complete hold however, as a surging warm enveloped the fiery ruler. Bursting open her golden peepers, Flame Princess saw that the Ancestral Flame had been rebonded to her, quickly rekindling the elemental's deeply deprived matrix. FP struggled to her feet, looking around for the body of her beloved hero.

She spotted Finn's motionless form a few feet away. Limping over to him, the girl began looking for his backpack, which had fallen off when she had thrown him out of the way. Desperately searching, she found what she needed nearby. As FP looked through the green linen holder for the Cyclops tears, she noticed several shards of glass on the ground. Stopping her search, she followed the jagged bits to a damp mass of dirt surrounded by large pieces of a bottle. Terrified, the girl picked up a label scattered among the glass and read it.

**Cyclops Tears**

Clutching the piece of paper as it burned to ashes, Flame Princess began to weep in despair, having lost her only way of saving the human's life. As tears rained down upon the dark earth beneath her, she crawled over to Finn's body and felt his chest. It didn't rise and fall, but at the very least his heart was beating, slower and slower.

"No! After all this it can't be over. We came all this way, finally with hope to be together for real, only to have me watch him die right before my eyes?"

FP's vision was blurred further by disbelief as well as her flooding ducts. She covered her face with her hands, not knowing what to do. The gate had dissipated its vicious challenge, but was found to be much more absolute than its predecessors, not offering any aid in the least.

Flame Princess looked back to the damp spot where the tears had soaked into the soil. If only there was some way to retrieve them. The ancestral Flame grew hotter, causing FP to examine her hand, engulfed by yellow fire. An idea suddenly pushed into the elemental's mind. She crawled back over to the wet ground and placed her burning hand over it. After a slight hissing, a wisp of steam rose from the evaporated Cyclops tears. The fiery girl then formed a weak funnel of flames around the escaping gas.

The generated current of hot and cold air allowed the princess to manipulate the steam toward Finn's ruined body. With the highest precision she could manage, FP laid the mass of vapor over him like a blanket. As the magical tears were absorbed into the grievous wounds upon the human's form, Flame Princess grew a shimmer of hope seeing that the solution still held its magical properties.

Eagerly waiting with her hands against her chest, the young queen remained absolutely silent as the dark burns began vanishing from Finn's flesh. Soon enough all that remained of his experience through the Gate of Revelation was his charred clothes. His pants were not as bad but his shirt had a massive gap in the front, revealing his well-developed chest.

Flame Princess blushed again, embarrassed that she was staring at the young man's muscles. Luckily for her the hero began to stir a moment later, groaning as he opened his eyes and blinked until he could see straight. His gaze drew him to FP, who was smiling with tears in her eyes. The human grinned, amused by how many times he had experienced this moment.

"Heh. I've really got to learn to stop dying all the time."

He chuckled, the princess couldn't help but join him through her wet sobs. Noticing his lady's condition, Finn lifted himself off the ground and sat up, immediately pulling the fiery ruler into a hug, which she gladly returned.

"I'm glad you're safe FP."

The elemental sniffled then smiled again.

"You dummy, I should be the one saying that."

They remained there for some time, occasionally giggling together at how childishly they were treating the lethal situation they had just gone through. It couldn't be helped. Alive and victorious, the couple shared a kiss as they sat on their knees by the end of the gate. A realization had occurred to them that all they had struggled through to this point had all been worth it, worth risking their lives to remain bonded as two people in love. That, they decided, was the true revelation of the Gate behind them.

Eventually letting each other go, the couple stood up and gathered Finn's pack, replacing all the scattered objects and Finn's demon sword. With a final look at the engraving atop the arch, they pressed on toward the final destination. Mercifully enough, the chamber holding the portal to the multiverse was not far. The entrance was decorated with various fire runes, glistening due to the unknown metal they were crafted from. Finn translated the language for his girlfriend.

**With your past behind you, your doubts laid to rest,**

**your body and mind have been put to the test, **

**Your heart has proved worthy to walk through this door,**

**Go forth and discover you can accomplish much more**

Finn beamed at the message, feeling a rise in his spirit. Turning to Flame Princess he saw her arms crossed and a upset expression upon her face. Raising an eyebrow, the human thought of a minute before figuring it out.

"Jealous that I can read that?" he teased.

The fiery girl socked him in the shoulder, making the young man rub his arm.

"Shut up," she replied, rolling her eyes.

Chuckling slightly, Finn motioned for her to follow as they entered the room ahead. The single feature of the chamber was the multidimensional portal against the back wall. It solemnly floated partially off the ground, waiting for any proven adventurers and sojourners to step through and face the overwhelming challenge of the space beyond its reality warping edges.

Finn and Flame Princess gazed into each other's eyes, once again joining their hands.

"You think I can do it this time?" the human asked tentatively.

FP leaned over and pecked his cheek, smiling at her hero with confidence.

"I know you can Finn, those gates proved we'll never fail as long as our hearts burn as one."

The young man nodded with admiration, knowing how lucky he was to have an amazing girl like Flame Princess by his side. With a final swallow in his throat, Finn led himself and his lady into the portal, determined to face the Citadel once more, determined to prove his strength, determined to make the final connection to the love of his life.

* * *

**_I'm hoping to make this the average chapter length. Otherwise this could get even longer than planned._**

**_I was wondering if you guys could explain the difference between 'visitors' and 'views' to me because I really get confused whenever I look at the traffic graphs. _**

**_Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter and leave reviews please. *rants are encouraged*. Later._**

**_next:_**Chapter 11: Redemption


	11. Chapter 11: Redemption

Chapter 11: Redemption

Beyond the rift between Ooo and the space occupying the multiverse was a sight that could have never been experienced correctly unless one was physically standing there. This fact was true for two brave and strong teenagers who had walked through trials of death and suffering to now stand before one of the most omnipotent objects in all of known existence.

The Citadel of Truth hovered in empty space surrounded by a canvas of elegant galaxies and constellations that the pocket dimension itself had managed to produce. Aside from the actual fortress, the building was protected on all sides by an artificial ring of mountain ranges that clung to the structure like a suit of armor.

Turning aside the bleakness of the area around it, the Citadel hosted a wide variety of gorgeous vegetation that neither Finn nor Flame Princess had ever seen. There were flowers, tree, shrubs, and vines which crawling up the masterfully carved pillars that framed the ancient temple's entrance. These massive columns were etched with an unknown language, likely long forgotten and forever impossible to translate.

The breathtaking view was only enhanced further by a network of waterfalls that ran over the edge of the cliffs, falling endlessly into the void below before eventually spreading out thinly enough to evaporate into the air. Peaceful ponds were gathered at either side of the pathway up to the fortress as Finn led his princess up a set of golden stairs.

Every drop of water was pure and untainted, so clear that it appeared more as a wind carrying occasional grains of silver. Somehow, FP got curious and stopped them by a small stream nearby. Pulling away from Finn for a moment, the girl cautiously reached her hand out and touched the flowing liquid. She gasped as the supposedly deadly element of nature calmly swept through her fingers, not producing so much as a hiss.

The fiery girl closed her eyes and felt the pacific waters slide around her skin, defying the physical laws that had been placed upon the fire elemental. Of course, they were no longer in a world of laws, clearly defined as Flame Princess cupped some of the water in her hands and brought the serene liquid to her lips, gently letting it flow down her throat.

Finn gazed in amazement as he watched his girlfriend smile at the crisp and clean taste of the previously untouchable force. Standing back up, FP returned to the human's side with a grand sense of wonder and freedom set in her face, placing her hand in his. The young man smiled.

"How was it?" he asked with amusement.

The young queen leaned against Finn's shoulder, letting out a delighted sigh.

"Incredible, to think I would ever drink water of all things. This trip will be more than worth what we went through, especially if we get time after you beat the guardian to enjoy this beautiful place."

The girl's confidence in the human's abilities sparked a massive feeling of power in his heart. He leaned his head to bump Flame Princess's as they continued on to another set of steps.

After fully observing the magical atmosphere of the path to the Citadel, the couple finally passed through a magnificent golden arch, displaying two symbols in its precise carvings. One was a shape they actually recognized. It was the infinity symbol, easily remembered for looking like a sideways eight. The second however, stumped them both. It was a double-headed arrow, each end pointing in the opposite direction, creating the sense of an endless line crossing through space.

Stepping through the arch made both teens nervous, for obvious reasons. To their relief though, no reaction came of it aside from their own eyes, which widened at the sight of a glittering courtyard that hosted the front entrance to the Citadel itself. The open area was decorated on all sides by more exotic plants and tiny streams that flowed in nearly microscopic canals within the exquisitely tiled floor, which shone a golden yellow like the rest of the architecture.

To either side were corridors leading to apparent various sections of the temple, likely protected by some great force. The center of the room contained an inscribed rune that when observed closely turned out to be an overlap of the two symbols that rested in the panel of the shimmering gate behind Finn and FP. As the two stepped over the mysterious art embedded in the ground, Finn looked ahead to see a familiar form.

Before the door to the great fortress stood a large figure, staff in hand and a royal blue robe concealing his body, along with a hood for his head. The only parts of the guardian that was visible were his hands, which contained a multitude of peculiar tattoos. His ancient looking rod was nothing special, aside from an orb sitting upon its end, containing what appeared to be a cosmic collection of miniature stars and nebulas, complete with a black background.

The two outsiders halted their advance as they came within several feet of the shadowy being. There was no movement from the man for what felt like many minutes. FP could swear he was studying the new arrivals. Before long, the towering figure raised his arms and pulled back his hood just enough to reveal a face.

There was no expression upon his features. A pair of deep purple eyes stared right through the two teenagers. At last, the guardian spoke.

"Finn the Human, you have returned, as was expected."

The gravity of the man's voice was enormous. The young hero could almost feel additional pressure being placed on him with each word. The huge being shifted his gaze to the princess.

"And you have brought along a companion, the very girl you came here for previously."

The young man had been exceptionally intimidated the first time he faced the guardian. The protector of the Citadel had a supernatural way of looking into a person's very soul. Before he could respond, Finn felt a burning on his hand. Looking down, the hero saw that he once again had overextended his flame shield, for the spell was fading rapidly, leaving his skin unprotected from the fiery elemental holding his appendage. Realizing the situation, FP quickly released her grip, both concerned for the human's wellbeing and saddened that what little closeness they could achieve had just faded away.

The guardian watched the two intently.

"And so there lies the problem."

Finn finished examining his lightly burned palm and stepped toward the towering man.

"That's right, I'm here to try again, and this time I won't be taking failure as an option. Besides…"

He looked to Flame Princess, beautiful as ever.

"I've got her with me, and that's all the strength I need."

The protector pondered the human's words for a moment before leaning toward the young man.

"If you are so confident then perhaps this new motivation is too much of an advantage."

Finn's face grew an expression of confusion. The guardian then lifted his staff and pointed it to the space next to him. Within moments, a rift tore its way through the fabric of time-space and created an ominous cube of utterly black substance. Finn gulped.

"Since you believe this trial will be lighter upon your shoulders with her here, then I'm raising the bar to equalize the hardship."

Neither of the teens liked the sound of that.

"Finn, to gain entrance into the Citadel, you must remain in this isolation of temporal stasis for exactly 1600 years."

Shock and disbelief were an understatement. Finn and FP felt like someone had just pushed them off a cliff. The human remained frozen for a long time before he noticed the fiery ruler approach the guardian.

"Sir, if I may ask, can you perform flame shield?"

For the moment, her words had no expression of emotion.

The tall figure simply leaned his rod toward the unmoving human. Several of the tattoos on his hands lit up for a moment before a thin beam of blue energy was shot at the young man, layering him with a fresh protective flame shield. Turning to the hero, Flame Princess stared into his eyes with a stoic expression.

This pose remained for several more minutes, making the human believe that his girlfriend was waiting for a sign that he could still communicate. Finally, he found the nerves necessary to move his mouth.

"FP, I-"

The moment evidence of his animation was presented the fiery girl forced herself into Finn's chest with so much force he nearly fell over. Surprised at the sudden change in emotion, the human stood bewildered as he felt newly formed lava tears running down his shirt. Growing sobs were heard a second later.

"Finn, I'm going to tell you right now that you don't have to do this."

The level of despair in her voice sent a pulse through the hero's mind. He finally found the strength to lift up his arms and tighten them around the princess's back. After doing so, he buried his face in FP's flowing red hair, which she had cooled, stating that blue wasn't her color. The embrace lasted what seemed like forever before Finn answered back.

"FP, it's not a matter of choice."

He managed to break away partially from his love and raised her chin to look her in the eyes.

"We found each other when we were both alone. We struggled throughout our time together to defy nature. We kept an unbroken chain between our hearts for all those years, proving to the whole world that nothing could keep us apart. We passed the three gates and now, only a single obstacle remains between the two of us and, this."

Finn slowly leaned in and placed his lips against hers. Knowing this would be the final time he could make his princess happy for what, to him at least, would be over a millennium, he put all his effort and focus to creating the deepest and most intimate kiss he could. The fact that he couldn't feel any of it was a discarded detail, it didn't matter one bit, it never did, for why would he demand an equal share of love when he knew he already had it in his grasp, standing before him, eyes closed, with a silent expression of love and joy upon her delicate face.

Finally, Finn ever so gently removed his hold on Flame Princess's soft lips and gazed back into her eyes, still leaking bright tears down her cheeks.

"Isn't there any, any way at all, for us to know how close we are to each other, even if you can't see it?"

Her eyes were pleading for an uplifting answer. Finn thought hard for a moment, until he finally remembered a special item he was carrying with him. In the young man's pocket rested the golden band that Ferrum had crafted him, along with its partner, which rested deep inside the hero's green backpack. Flame Princess noticed his realization, however subtle it was.

"Finn, I saw that. What do you know?"

Her tone was now serious as she sniffled the last of her crying. Finn lowered his sight a bit and thought harder. He really wanted to know FP would be near him throughout the Nightosphere-ish trial that lay before him. However, the method by which he knew to do so made him reluctant. There was no way he could just go through with it. 'Popping the question', as Jake taught him to call it, was a special and decisive moment, not to be used for a simple assurance measure.

His mind made up, Finn returned his gaze to the princess's golden eyes.

"I do know a way, but, it's not the, right time, for it."

Flame Princess grew an astonished look.

"Are you kidding me!? Finn we're talking about your sanity! You can't be serious!"

The young man sighed and stared over the girl's shoulder into the void of the multiverse.

"I'm sorry FP, but this is way too big, it involves my integrity as a man, and there's no way to describe how awful it would feel knowing I left for so many 'years' after dropping a bombshell like that. "

The human looked back into the girl's helpless expression. He forced a smile to his face and ran his fingers through her fiery hair.

"It'll be fine FP, I know you will be there."

The princess just continued to stare at her hero's blue eyes.

"Please, Finn, just tell me what it is."

It hurt Finn to hear such a desperate tone from the girl he cared for, but the young man was not to be wavered.

"Trust me Flame Princess, it would be so much worse."

With one final kiss to the cheek, Finn released his hold on the fiery elemental and turned to face the guardian, giving him a nod. The towering being opened the dimension and Finn stepped in, giving FP one last smile before disappearing into the torturous world beyond. As the portal inside closed, the guardian struck his staff on the ground and a rumbling began. After a few moments, a massive hourglass rose from the floor, filled to the brim with shiny red sand.

"Twenty minutes, or, 1600 years, starts…now."

Flame Princess glued her eyes to the dark prism holding the young man she loved, knowing that every second, nearly half a year passed by for the hero.

"Be safe Finn."

* * *

(2 years in)

Finn floated in the endless void, bored out of his mind, and out of ideas on how to pass the time. For the first few years (which he kept track of with an extra-fat notepad he'd thrown in his backpack) he spent the days thinking of every single moment he had spent with Flame Princess, all the way back to the beginning. He recounted the slap he received after saying he liked her, due to the confusion that had been stirred up by Jake and his 'hook-up' operation. He remembered tracking her down and trying to explain his feelings, only to misunderstand how he was hurting her by stamping out her flames.

The chase that escalated all the way to the Goblin Kingdom had brought back fond memories as well. After all the pain that was caused, FP concluded that nature would always keep them apart. But all Finn noticed from the statement was that she in fact liked him back. That was all the motivation he needed to try to reason with the fire elemental that they could still try.

_You would defy nature for me?_

Of course he would.

The beginning of their dates, building her house, and hugging more and more each day. It was a shame that flame shield wasn't easily available back then, Flambo was hard to track down most of the time. Their first kiss, which while an amazing experience, nearly destroyed the whole planet. Finn had jumped in to save her, giving his last breath to make sure she would have another. The small little rock that the human picked up to use for their 'smooches'.

Saving her dad, more dates, going to the vault of bones to prove she was good. All of it was worth it. He had been astonished but happy that FP hadn't killed him for what Jake forced him to do in front of her less evil family. That baby dance was the most embarrassing thing he'd ever done.

Their breakup, the mysterious dreams, Cosmic Owl. This was a drop in happiness. But it involved Flame Princess so Finn pushed on and recollected the whole thing. His final realization that Bubblegum's age kept them apart, the shock of discovering the gummy princess was experimenting with the fiery girl's emotions. The journey to the newly reborn Fire Kingdom. Being friend-zoned. That one hurt a lot.

His struggles with the breakup, revealed by the broken-hearted song he sang while helping Slime Princess keep her throne.

_I Just can't_

_Get over you_

The following years were spent without anyone to share his love with, unable to fully accept that the flaming ruler could never be his again. The days turned to weeks, which became months. Time flew by as Finn slowly wore himself down, locking away his feelings from the surface so that he could remain in a friendly relationship with the girl that he let slip through his hands.

The great failure when he attempted to take on the Citadel of Truth. He had come so close, but in the end, it was all for nothing. The human made sure to burn the failure into his heart, always keeping his and FP's kissing stone in his pocket, forever carrying the message that he didn't deserve to love a girl he couldn't pass a trial for.

He reflected on the events of the past few days, all leading up to the climactic return to the ancient temple, where he now resided back in the very dimension that broke him before. Only this time, the stay had been doubled.

Finn sighed, trying his best to form a thought of the flaming princess in his arms.

(54 years in)

The last of the tears floated out into endless space, their source having finally stopped releasing them into the gravity-less void. The great hero of Ooo finished his daily weeping, or at least, what he thought was daily. The notepad had long since run out of space to draw tally marks, every inch of the paper now black from the pencil marks. The writing utensils as well had ended, having been sharpened down to mere stubs with erasers on the ends.

Finn wiped away his wet eyes, despair painted all over his face.

_Darn it Finn hold on, hold on!_

(378 years in)

"Would you like some pancakes with that Jake? Sure, I can get you a refill on that tea."

Finn had made tiny dolls out of scraps from the food he no longer needed to eat, having been in danger of going insane unless he created some sort of interactive activity for himself in the void. Well, more insane than now anyway.

"Hahaha! Shouldn't you be getting back to Lady bro?"

"Oh man, you're right Finn! I'll see you later."

"Wait Jake no, don't go, PLESE DON'T GO!"

(711 years in)

_How long have I existed? What are these strange thoughts inside my head? Are these my memories? I see…a yellow dog, he's Jake right? And…a floating black haired girl…Marcy?_ _A pink dressed young woman that gave a friendly smile…Princess, princess, uh, all I can remember is 'Peebles'._

_There's a small green box with…a face? Weird. Unless…a game station, who can talk, has…family…CMO, KMO, GMO, BMO…BMO! That was his name. Um, he was a guy right? No wait, he did some girl stuff too, like, marrying a bubble? No, that's silly. Some old guy with blue skin, I'm thinking…cold…ice? Ice, uh, dang, what was it. King! The Ice King. He was evil! NO, wait, he was my bro-ham, right? UGH!_

_A living rainbow….more like a horse wasn't she? Lady…..Raini, raini, ranico…shoot…I lost it! A tiny little flame, some strange accent, always wanted food. He ate rocks? No way, that makes no sense. A good smell, something that starts with a 'p'. and made by a little green…hippo? No it was a tree? No her name had tree in it, darn, I think I liked her 'p' things. _

_The most beautiful thing I can remember…hhmmm. I think of, a fire, a powerful, strong fire, one that is moving to me. It hurts sometimes but most of the time it feels, so nice to be with it. Her. Princess. Flame Princess. FP. This girl, I, I, I….I love her. I would do anything. _

_That's right Finn! That's why you're in here! To finally be together with Flame Princess! You care for her a lot and she feels the same. I have to last, what was it? A thousand years, no more than that, I think like 1500 or something near that. Glob how long has it been?_

(1251 years in)

_I can't give in, I can't give in, I can't give in…._

(1348 years in)

_Dear Gob something kill me already! I'm Sorry FP, I can't make it. Damn it! Damn it all!_

_Wait, there's a sword in my pack. I could end it! No Finn that's stupid! All you have to do is say that you give up, and it'll all be over. You can be back with Flame Princess, you can love her again. Yeah!_

"Guardian! I giv-"

_NO!_

_You swore to go through it, for her Finn, for her!_

_What makes you think she's still there? What makes you think she's still just outside this dimension?_

_She said she would be, and besides, it's only been like 15 minutes out there._

_And you believe that? This might all be a lie, an illusion that your mind created to make up for the emptiness. Get out of here and find FP!_

_Maybe, maybe you're right._

_I'll wait, just a little bit longer…_

* * *

(Ten minutes in, at the Citadel)

Flame Princess sat with her legs brought up to her chest, fearfully staring into the black prism containing the struggling human. Half the time had passed. Finn made it through 800 years. If only he had succeeded the first time, if only FP had gone with him. Guilt was growing in the poor girl's heart. But she could do nothing out here. Looking to the guardian, Flame Princess couldn't help but ask.

"How is he?"

The tall man stared at the falling sands of the hourglass.

"He's breaking fast at this point, I honestly doubt he'll make it."

These words brought tears to the young queen's eyes, sobbing all over the tiled floor. She knew she should've convinced Finn to use whatever he was talking about before entering. If only there was a way to go back and change it so that there was a chance for the young man. By now, he could probably barely remember her name.

_The Citadel! _

Her thought snapped her mind into focus. Flame Princess gazed at the majestic structure above her, with golden towers and a seemingly impenetrable layers of metal walls. She found an answer, the final hope she had to save Finn from insanity. Gathering her wits, the fiery girl walked up to the guardian and got his attention.

"I want to take the trial."

The towering figure raised an eyebrow.

"What are you thinking princess of flames?"

The girl stood upright and defiant.

"Give me my own challenge. I'll get into the Citadel myself and use my desire to help Finn."

The guardian turned to her with a serious face.

"You cannot desire for another to pass their trial, that is not allowed."

FP was undeterred, shaking her head.

"No, I won't do that, what I will do is find a way for him to know for sure that I'm right here, waiting for his return."

The protector of the temple fully faced the young queen, still carrying the look of seriousness on his features.

"Very well."

He aimed his staff and another portal opened.

"Your trial shall take place in an alternate universe. I will create the same time dilation as Finn is experiencing. Please enter if you are ready."

There was no other option and as far as Flame Princess was concerned, whatever awaited her on the other side could burn in the Nightosphere. Nothing would stop her from changing Finn's approaching fate. With a final glance at her love's temporal dimension, she jumped into the portal.

Like the rift that took the two teens to the Citadel, travel was instantaneous. FP landed on a familiar surface, familiar due to its temperature. Looking around, the princess found her in the throne room of the fire palace. Only now, she noticed there was a person sitting in her chair: another Flame Princess.

Gasping, the girl moved her hand over her mouth. It was then that she saw what had changed to her own body. Her entire form was translucent, as if she were a ghost. The ghost theory was enhanced when Flame Princess noticed that neither her twin nor any of the other fire elemental's in the room noticed her presence.

Suddenly, the guardian appeared next to her, also in a phantom state.

"Here is the setting for your trial. An alternate universe of Ooo. As you can see, for the moment, there is very little difference."

The flaming girl turned to look he man in the eyes.

"For the moment?"

He nodded.

"Yes, that's where you come in. In this dimension the only person that can see you is your alternate self over there."

The guardian pointed to the throne.

"For now she hasn't noticed you, so pay attention."

About to ask what t pay attention to, FP was silenced as the palace's front gate opened, letting in an all too familiar face, Finn. Something was off though. Squinting to get a better look, she was shocked to see that the human was covered in various cuts, bruises, and even burns. The flame shield was active. What could've pierced the spell's protection?

The young man walked up to the throne and took a knee, bowing before the queen. Flame Princess took a moment to study her alternate self. There appeared to be no difference. She was wearing the royal dress she had possessed before the Ancestral Flame, Cinnamon Bun stood by vigilantly at her side, her father was still suspended in the crystal lamp.

"Just so you know, I've placed us in a time frame that runs current compared to yours, minus the attack of the crystal dragon."

FP nodded. She then finally noticed the difference in her other self. Upon the queen's face was a look of irritation and somewhat loathing. This struck the actual princess as odd. She would never look like that when Finn visited, he brought a smile to her face. And this was current time flow, what happened to the Flame? Where was Ferrum? Why was Finn so badly injured? What happened next answered her questions.

The alternate Flame Princess stood up swiftly from her seat and marched over to the kneeling human. She stopped for a few seconds, then kicked the hero hard, sending him back several feet. Actual FP was astonished. Finn groaned and attempted to stand, only to have his shirt pulled by the princess who had struck him.

"I told you to not come back!" the young queen screamed.

Finn weakly opened his eyes and looked into the burning ones of the fire elemental.

"I, I still wish to serve you FP, just like the old days. It can't hurt to have an extra fighter around, right?"

The queen threw him further away.

"No. You just don't get it. You still can't wrap your stupid mind around the fact that we will never be close again, you've refused to understand that for almost three years now! And frankly, I've had enough! Get out of the Fire Kingdom Finn, now!"

The beaten hero limped closer to FP's alternate.

"Forget about my feelings, please. I just want to help."

The queen turned her back.

"Get out."

Finn took a few steps closer.

"I'm begging you, nothing except serving your people."

"Get out."

A few more steps, right behind the fiery girl.

"Nothing more, we don't even have to be friends."

"I SAID GET OUT!"

To her absolute horror, FP watched as her twin spun around and produced a blazing blue fire sword from her hand, laying down a lightning fast strike against the helpless human standing there. FP didn't know what the intended target was but screamed as Finn's right arm was severed from his body.

This act was followed by the human's own scream of pain. The wound was instantly cauterized by the heat of the sword but any chance of retrieving his arm was thrown out. The eviscerated limb lost its flame shield, separated from the source, and was slowly burned to a crisp on the oven like floor of the palace. Finn fell to the ground, clutching his mutilated shoulder. He yelled in agony for several more seconds before attempting once again to stand.

His legs shook tremendously, only matched by the fear and despair on his face. FP joined the alternate Finn in looking back at her other self, who stood there, with a look of self-disbelief mixed with ever present anger. Finn shed a single tear before moving as fast as he could out of the throne room.

As tears formed in the ghostly FP's own eyes, the guardian motioned to the scene before them, Finn leaving in intense pain while the angered queen remained standing, trying to take in what she had just done.

"You're trial Flame Princess, is to fix this."

* * *

**_This chapter is dedicated to the heartfelt song the Finn sang in "Love Games". That was just beautiful in my opinion._**

**_Please enjoy and review. *Rants encouraged*._**

**_next:_**Chapter 12: Raising a Fallen Star


	12. Chapter 12: Raising a Fallen Star

Chapter 12: Raising a Fallen Star

Losing her freaking mind was a gross understatement. Flame Princess stared at the guardian with a twitching eye, unable to comprehend the level of insanity he had just laid upon her. Her trial, in all its detail, was by far the most heinous thing the fiery girl had ever heard of.

"Are you out of your mind!? My twin just **sliced his arm off**! How could anyone be forgiven for that, much less still have feelings for them?"

The towering figure silenced her with his staff, striking the ground with it.

"It is for that reason that I didn't take _her _away from you. Otherwise yes, it would be insane and most likely impossible. I shall await your results, princess of flames."

With those final words, the guardian phased out of the dimension, leaving FP to contemplate what he meant. Who the heck was _she_? Deciding that for better or for worse, complaining wasn't going to do a thing, the princess took a deep breath and walked toward her alternate self.

The queen was still standing there, looking upon the smoldering remains of flesh that used to be Finn's arm. Actual FP stopped a few yards away, slightly behind the girl so as to not be noticed for the time being. After what seemed like forever, the deranged ruler lowered her arms and looked to the ground.

"Everyone get out, NOW!"

The court of the Fire Kingdom quickly scrambled as fast as they could, not wanting to know what would happen to them after seeing what she did to the person she once had feelings for. Soon, only the two Flame Princesses were left within the deserted room. Even Cinnamon Bun had gotten the idea. Flame King chose to keep his mouth shut and remained in the back corner of his lantern.

After a moment of empty silence, the previously enraged elemental walked ever so slowly to her throne and sat down with a hard thump. Her head was hung, her figure slumped, everything about her appeared broken. FP finally decided to walk up to her. Keeping in mind that she had a clock to beat (however slow it was) the girl chose to get straight to work, not having a clue as to what she was doing.

"Look what you've done."

The girl in the throne instantly snapped back to reality and shot a fireball at the source of the voice. At first the foreign FP thought the Ancestral Flame would just absorb the weak projectile, but then remembered she wouldn't have to worry about dodging **anything** in this world. With that in mind, she gave no reaction as the flames went right through her head, with no interaction whatsoever.

The defensive FP was astonished, but balled her fists with more fire.

"Who are you!? And why do you look like me?"

Flame Princess stepped forward, crossing her arms. She managed to come up with a perfect alias.

"I'm your subconscious."

The raging elemental calmed immediately. As she lowered her guard, her eyes instantly changed. Despair was now their dominant trait. She fell to her knees and began quite a miserable display of sobbing. FP walked closer and kneeled down to her twin, placing a ghostly hand on her shoulder. It didn't phase through.

"He just wouldn't stay away, I had to get the point through, but, I didn't want to do that! My rage, what a pathetic queen to be stuck with something as awful as that!"

Flame Princess wasn't about to go soft. Realizing that she herself could physically interact with her twin, she grabbed the collar of the girl's dress and leveled her in the face, knocking her further to the ground. Alt FP was shocked, but didn't scream out in anger. Instead she continued weeping.

"I deserved that."

The outsider stood up.

"You're damn right you did! Now get up."

It was, to a sense, ironic. Moments ago this alt princess of flames had been terrifying FP, now, it was the other way around. Even the princess herself was surprised by her own aggressiveness. Reluctantly, the wet faced girl returned to her feet.

"What do I do?"

FP stared at her splitting image.

"I don't believe for one second this will do a thing, but first off, you're going to apologize."

Alt Flame Princess had a look of disbelief on her face, supporting the fact that she was thinking the same.

"I can't, he'll never even look at me again without fear in his eyes. Why couldn't he just accept that we weren't meant to be together?"

A slap was felt across the girl's face. She yelped. FP put her arm down after again trying to smack the sense into her own self.

"Yes you are."

The fiery girl of the realm finally stopped crying to look deep into her 'subconscious's' eyes.

"No, it's impossible. He's tried every method, nothing worked. Even flame shield has its limits."

FP sighed. This was going to be a long process.

* * *

It had been a few hours and Flame Princess finally managed to drag her twin out of her unstable mood. She was drinking a mug of lava while FP thought of a plan. It was quite difficult. How could anything justify her alternate's actions? This would truly be a test of the feelings between the dimension's couple.

"Are you ready to go?"

Alt FP stood up, still shaking a little but not outright trembling.

"Yes."

Her voice was hollow. Without another word, the two girls made their way out of the palace and proceeded to the gates leading out of the kingdom. Once past the massive doors, FP began to wonder how this would turn out. Her best guess was unfortunately the worst possible situation: Finn would be too terrified to even talk to her alternate.

_I can't give in, I just started, and this is for Finn, well, two Finns, I guess._

As they marched across the grasslands, the two fire elementals noticed several figures scurrying in the distance, too far to identify but clearly observing them, well, the non-ghost one anyway. FP grew a bad feeling in her stomach. How would the rest of Ooo react to her twin's actions?

Coming up on the tree fort, they were both surprised that all seemed normal. No one seemed to be around. Yet as they got closer, plenty of noise could be heard inside, most of it was pained moaning. Another sound that came was a 'caw'. Looking to the roof of the house, the FPs saw a familiar bird, the very one that a certain pink lady used to get around at great speeds. The Marrow.

"Oh Gob, Princess Bubblegum is here. She knows."

Alt Flame Princess crouched down and put her hands over her eyes. FP became nervous as well. PB was among Finn's closest friends, and she already thought she was too dangerous at one time. Recent events would probably bring that thought back to mind.

"We're not stopping, come on FP."

It felt strange to use her own name. The twin fire ruler reluctantly got back on her feet and took long difficult steps toward the fort, each one causing more and more uncertainty. The outsider FP remained behind, it was her alternate's job to apologize, hers was to kick her butt until she did it.

Before alt Flame Princess could approach too close to the house, a well-known sound filled the air, followed by a shout of pain as a blast of water struck the girl in the chest, sending her to the ground several feet back. The foreign fire elemental began running toward the helpless teen but stopped herself. If an unseen force was found to be helping the defenseless princess it would only complicate things, she was forced to just watch and hope.

Alt FP managed to get to her knees, gasping for oxygen as her assailants revealed themselves, moving out of various points of cover around the tree fort. They were banana guards, all armed with what appeared to be water cannons. The captain, by the looks of him, stepped toward the shivering girl.

"Flame Princess, you are forbidden from coming near Finn the Human. Under judgment of all the princesses of Ooo, violating this decree will result in neutralization."

If there was any hope present in the young queen, it had been swept away. She took a step forward, giving enormous effort to stay standing. The guards filed into a line and raised their weapons.

"Please…I just want to apologize."

She took another step forward before a loud voice broke through the air.

"Apologize!?"

The banana guards opened a path, revealing Princess Bubblegum, who firmly walked up to the flaming elemental before stopping several yards away. Her face showed sheer disgust and hatred. It hurt to see such an out of place expression upon the candy monarch's face, for both FPs. The woman pointed a finger at the alt ruler.

"You dare think you could apologize for this?! What greater shame could you inflict on yourself you ignorant brat?!"

Alt FP was frozen in her tracks, unable to respond for a while. She noticed dry water marks on the gummy ruler's face and her hands were covered in both red blood and what appeared to be oil.

"I, I knew it wouldn't change anything, but I only wanted to tell Finn that what I did was not my intent. Please, can I just tell him two words?"

Even FP had to admit her twin's voice sounded like a cowering weakling, and not because of the lethal weapons aimed at her. There were tears in the begging elemental's eyes. Bubblegum however, only seemed to grow angrier.

"And the beatings? The burns? The bruises? All those times he told me and Jake he had been 'careless' while visiting the Fire Kingdom, were those also not your intent!?"

The flame ruler's already struggling heart gave out at this point, losing itself in despair.

"I, I, I…"

Each attempt was swallowed by shame. After a few moments, PB grabbed one of the guard's cannons and shot it at the defeated fire elemental. She didn't even bother to scream, just whimper.

"Get out of here Flame Princess. We all agreed that you are banished from every kingdom and the grasslands will be on 24 hour guard. You have nowhere to go except that little slice of nightosphere you call your kingdom. Now leave!"

Crawling back away from the tree house, alt FP continued her sobs. Not from the physical water but from the hurtful emotions each impact had inflicted. She looked up from her attackers into a small window at the top of the tree. Within its glass, she could see the form of Finn, with a large number of bandages wrapped around his shoulder and the framework of a prosthetic metal arm protruding from the socket. That explained the oil.

She was too far away to see the young man's expression, but assumed it to be either fear or hatred, perhaps both.

Finally finding the strength to get up, FP did the only thing possible to communicate with the human from such a distance. Using what remained of her fire, she shot a controlled stream of flames into the ground, burning a message out of the grass. As she finished, she walked through her statement and began limping back home, her foreign-self following after her.

The message remained for only a few seconds before the banana guards put it out with water, but it was still visible plain as day.

**I'm so sorry.**

* * *

The Fire Kingdom palace was flooded with officials when the two princesses returned. As their ruler walked through the entrance, all attention focused on her. There were warnings of potential war, concerns for relations with the other kingdoms, dozens of death threats from all over the land.

FP felt herself drowning in the worried faces of her people. Unable to deal with so much pressure after what had just transpired, the young queen burst into the air and shot herself out of the building. Her foreign-self followed close behind. Once they had cleared the walls of the castle, the native fire elemental touched down on a cliff overlooking the land.

As the ghostly Flame Princess also landed, she nearly stumbled from her newly discovered exhaustion.

_What the heck? I can get tired in here? That guardian's a jerk._

Steadying herself, the girl walked up to the seated and crying form of her alternate. At first she wanted to scold the fiery ruler for abandoning the needs of her kingdom but then she remembered her own troubles and how Finn would always loosen her stress when she was feeling overwhelmed.

Sitting down next to her twin, FP looked over to the young lady sobbing into her knees. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she attempted to comfort her.

"It's not over, we'll find a way."

She wished she could also give a hopeful smile, but the situation was not welcome to such a gesture. Alt Flame Princess finally looked up to face her phantasmal companion.

"Are you absolutely out of your mind? Did you see what happened? Did you see how Finn just stared from the window, glaring at me?"

FP stood up.

"You couldn't see him from that distance! Stop giving in so easily!"

The curled up girl just shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. I'll never get near him and anyone I meet will attack me on sight."

Flame Princess let out an irritated groan before walking over to the nearest boulder and attempting to shatter it with a flaming punch. Unfortunately, her hand just phased through.

_Damn it! I need to relieve this frustration, but I can't just beat up my alternate, she's been through enough._

Unable to control her anger, FP began stomping around in a circle, hoping to ward off the rage. It didn't work. After a few minutes of going in her little track, the young queen looked back to her twin, noticing she was silent and miserable. Still upset, the girl marched over to her with the intent of slapping more sense into fire elemental.

"Ok, that's enough! Get up and start fixing the mess in the kingd-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Flame Princess collapsed onto the ground, having boiled away her remaining energy sulking in anger.

_Grod damn it…_

When she next woke up, FP immediately looked around. Her twin was gone, nowhere in sight. Getting to her feet, the fiery girl shot herself into the air and headed for the palace. Upon arrival, the place was still in disarray, only this time, everyone was running around looking for someone, obviously their leader.

Flame Princess shook with anger.

_She ran away!? Ugh! I'll kill her. _

With a final look of the chaos of the Fire Kingdom, FP blasted out of a nearby window and toward the boundaries of the grasslands. She felt a sense of desperation. She now had to track down the most wanted person in Ooo before Finn's condition in the isolated dimension became worse. Although the time dilation was the same, the girl didn't want any additional suffering to the man she cared for.

_She'll always be on the move, and who knows how long I was out. Dang! But I won't give in, for Finn, I'll search however long it takes._

* * *

(3 weeks later)

A steady rain was falling from the heavens, covering the trees of the forest in a gentle cloak of mist and water. All else was silent, the sounds of impacting drops dominated the night air. The weather created an odd sense of solace, as if the land itself was in a deep depression. The ground grew large puddles of mud, the leaves of all the trees hung low from the downpour, small streams of rainwater continued to grow and rush down any slope they could find.

Even among the saddening scene, a light shone through, slowly making its way past trunk after trunk of oaks and pines. No living thing was around to wonder what the strange light was, however, if there had been, they still would have seen nothing. The mysterious red glow emerged from within a bustle of shrubs, seeming to pass right through without disturbing the vegetation. Exceptionally strange for a burning fire.

Flame Princess made her way through the dense forest, not bothering to side-step anything in her path, whatever she came in contact with simply allowed her to pass. Her flames did not respond to the falling rain, making no hiss or visible interaction with the supposedly deadly liquid. The puddles she splashed through did not in fact splash, but remained settled, not counting the gentle drops which caused microscopic waves in the tiny pools.

For days on end, the fiery elemental wandered through Ooo, searching tirelessly for the Flame Princess that actually belonged in the dimension. Tirelessly may not have been the right word, for even though she did not require nourishment, her body still needed to rest now and then to allow the flames to regrow.

It was a frustrating search. FP never knew how close or far she was from her target. The heat sense she attempted now and then detected nothing. Mercifully, the only thing that **could **be detected would be the single being in this world she could interact with: the missing princess.

The fiery girl stopped for a moment and looked around. No sign of light. Taking a deep breath, she threw out her arms and spun around, letting loose a wave of flames that spread out over the area. As the information returned to the elemental's body, she sighed, disappointed. Nothing.

FP sat herself on the ground, moping at the uselessness of her situation. Having barely spoken in several weeks, she talked out loud rather than in her mind.

"I'm just going to end up walking over Ooo forever. Not even forever actually. After 800 years or so, there will have been no point in going in the first place."

She sighed again.

"Finn."

Thinking of her loved one's fate only disheartened the princess further. She buried her face in her knees, too lost to continue walking. A few stray tears slid onto the ground (well, through it) as Flame Princess finally couldn't hold in her despair.

"What can I do, there's no one to help me."

_(Sigh) You have so much to learn dear._

FP shot her head up and looked around, twisting her neck frantically to find the source of the voice. There was nothing.

"Who's there?"

Her voice was both frightened and hopeful.

_The same one who's always been there._

The princess watched as the Ancestral Flame produced a small circle of fire around her and formed a bloated mass of scarlet ribbons in front of her. Within the small blaze the flames had turned white. FP blinked, then sat forward.

"You? How can you talk to me outside my mind?"

A small chuckle.

_Who ever said I was talking to you through the air?_

Thinking for a moment, the young lady sat back in her curled up position.

"Why did you show up only just now?"

Silence for a moment.

_Because only now can I sense that you're giving up._

"No I'm not, I'm-"

_Please child, I can read you like a book from within your heart._

"Ok fine, what of it?"

_Flame Princess, do you really think that this trial is meant to reunite that broken couple?_

"What do you mean?"

_Never mind. Maybe you could use my help?_

FP thought about it. Then she was honest.

"Yes please."

_Good. Now, it's time to release all that pent up negative energy within you._

Flame Princess took the hint and crossed her legs, brought her hands to her lap, and closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths, she focused on the powerful heat in her chest. The Ancestral Flame responded by calming itself, slowly lowering its temperature to a cool red fire.

As FP meditated, she began to hear the ancient pyre in a much more positive tone.

_You're doing well. Now, think of how you can use my power to help you find that poor girl._

The fire elemental ran down a list of her own powers. The only thing that sounded reliable at tracking was heat sense, but it wasn't nearly strong enough to cover a wide distance.

Strong enough…

"Wait, that's it! I can boost the radius of my heat sense. With the might of the Flame, it'll reach for miles."

A proud chuckle was heard.

_Indeed dear, why don't you see if you can command my flames to muster up a shockwave?_

FP nodded and slowly stood up. For a moment, she continued her breathing to ensure that the fires were still under control. Then, in one swift motion, she flung out her arms and forced the energy built up inside her to fan out in every direction it could.

A massive eruption of fire was unleashed, forming an orange ripple throughout Ooo. The wave of flames passed through everything in its path, the swirling energies searching for a source of heat identical to their owner. After radiating the land with the full power of the Flame, the shockwave finally faded out, slowly reduced to embers as the heat flung itself back to its origin.

Flame Princess opened her eyes. After quickly looking to her right, she focused once more before rocketing into the sky, gaining some altitude before zeroing in on her target. FP charged toward a range of far off mountains, knowing that her quarry was hiding somewhere among the peaks.

After a few minutes of flying at incredible speeds, she landed with a hard note outside a small cave, which was barely visible to anyone who wasn't specifically looking for it. The heat imprint had led her here and as the princess approached the mouth of the space, she could faintly see a glow emanating from somewhere inside.

Excitement filled her mind, giving her the energy to sprint into the damp structure to find her alternate self. Inside there was no evidence of habitation, nothing had been touched. The only noticeable traces of occupancy were slight burn marks on the ground. Going deeper into the cave, FP finally came across the person she was looking for, curled up against the wall, sleeping.

Kneeling down, Flame Princess put her hand on her twin's shoulder and shook the girl.

"Hey, wake up FP."

It took a minute but the elemental finally stirred, slowly blinking her eyes to readjust to the lighting. As her sight rested on her look-alike, she gasped and pushed herself from the wall, then quickly turned around and backed away, a look of dread in her expression.

"You again? Who are you really?"

Flame Princess was a bit confused.

"I told you, I'm your subconscious."

The twin's face turned to a glare.

"Stop lying! I know you're not. If you were my subconscious you wouldn't have just passed out in front of me, and you would've been able to instantly appear in front of me. Tell me the truth!"

FP sighed, busted. Deciding there was no point, or consequences to her trial if she revealed the real deal, she stepped forward and let out a breath.

"Ok, you got me. I'm you from another dimension, sent here to fix the mistake you made."

The native ruler appeared to ease up, lowering her defensive stance and approaching the visiting being. She stopped a few feet away.

"And how did you ever think you could do that? Look at what's happened, it's impossible."

Flame Princess looked to the ground with a frown.

_You've come this far, why not dig a little deeper?_

The Flame's voice echoed through her mind. The fiery girl walked up to the wall and leaned against it, crossing her arms in thought. How else could she use the ancient fire to her advantage? What else could it do? Flame power enhancement, protection from water, symbiotic bonding, advice, magical forging, history of the fire people, reclaiming the memories of those people, apparently matchmaking, reading emotions…

Memories.

Flame Princess looked at the miserable princess, who stood there eagerly awaiting an idea from her parallel twin. FP closed her eyes again and breathed deeply.

"Can you do it? Can you show her what she needs to see?"

_Now you're learning dear._

She could swear the Flame was smiling.

"Who are you talking to?"

Alt Flame Princess had a look of confusion on her face. Her foreign counterpart then proceeded to stride up to the lost fire elemental and looked her straight in the eyes.

"You want a reason to try? Allow me to show you."

With that, FP brought a finger to her twin's forehead and initiated the power of the Ancestral Flame. The other girl's pupils instantly dilated, sending her into a trance that melded the two princess's memories together. Inside the space, alt Flame Princess gazed at the wonder of a raging cyclone within which she was held. Upon its cycling walls, bits of thought were shot this way and that. Before she could react, a small arc of flames passed through her, igniting the memory contained inside the golden ribbon.

Opening her eyes, the fiery ruler experienced the past three years of her twin's relationship with Finn. Instead of pushing him away, however, she was surprised to see that the girl welcomed his every visit with a smile and a hug. She knew the boy still liked her (certainly not to the full extent, yet) but remained unaffected and hoped their friendship would last a long time. The days flew by and the human eagerly assisted the overworked leader of the fire elementals with a full heart, visiting often, fighting off invaders, or just hanging out to relieve some stress.

She watched Finn teaching her little brothers to fight, to know how to defend their home when the time came. She saw as the young man charged alongside her older brother, driving their blades into the skull of a massive water dragon. She saw the respect that gleamed in her people's eyes at the great protector of the Fire Kingdom. She saw the accidental spying that FP had performed as Finn laid out all his feelings.

Finally, she experienced the fateful reunion at Ferrum's blacksmith shop, the influence of the Ancestral Flame, the kiss. Tears began to flow from the alternate's golden eyes. Deciding not to overwhelm the girl with knowledge of the attack and the Citadel, FP cut off the memory link and gently pulled her out of the trance.

Flame Princess lowered he hand and awaited the response from her astonished parallel. The young queen just stood there for a moment, letting slow streams of lava leak from her eyes. Finally, she lowered her head.

"All this time, I thought growing closer would only cause more harm. But now, looking at what I have done, there is no question that my actions caused more grief than your universe ever could."

She looked back into Flame Princess's waiting gaze.

"I understand FP, I know what has to be done. Even if I can't make up for the awful treatment I gave Finn, I can at least find the strength to tell him how sorry I am and turn myself in. I need time to learn from my mistakes."

The nobility of her twin's word's made the outsider beam with success on the inside. She had finally accomplished something since the trial began. Now she only hoped the situation could be vindicated.

The newly enlightened FP closed in on her parallel self and embraced her, surprising the girl. After a moment though, she regained her composure and returned the hug. Neither of them smiled. One hug was for thanks, the other for pride. Beyond that, there was still an issue to resolve.

Backing away, the determined ruler nodded to Flame Princess, who returned the gesture.

"Go. I'll catch up later."

Alt FP shot of the cave with full force, leaving the foreign princess to sit down against the wall. She had had an exhausting night. Before joining in her twin's final attempt at redemption, she had to get some rest. As her eyes slipped closed, she dreamed of finally returning to Finn, embracing him tightly after the hell she'd been through.

* * *

Luckily, the rain had stopped falling when alt Flame Princess emerged from the mouth of the cave at incredible speeds. He priority was finding Finn, and showing no resistance to anyone who stood in her way. It would be hard, but after the visions she was shown, there was no doubt it was the best thing she could do in her dimension.

Approaching the grasslands, FP found that they seemed completely deserted. No patrols like she'd seen several days ago, no spotters in temporary towers dotting the plains. Nearing the tree house, the fiery girl slowed herself before making a smooth landing at the door to the building. Hesitantly, she knocked.

"Hello? Anyone?"

No answer came. Peering into the window, she saw that it was completely dark inside. No movement could be detected along the outside of the tree either. Confused, the young queen rose back into the air and headed toward the Fire Kingdom.

_Maybe I can find somebody there who knows where Finn is._

Coming up on the border between the green grasses and volcanic rock, Flame Princes froze in midair as her eyes went wide. Before her were two massive armies, facing each other across two large hills, fully armed and waiting to clash. One army was that of the Fire Kingdom. Hundreds of soldiers, golems, and flaming catapults were lined up in disciplined formations, ready to take to battle at any second.

On the opposite hill was a much more varied force. It comprised of, basically, every kingdom that** wasn't **made of fire. Rock soldiers took up the first line, holding up large stone shields to protect their allies from the inevitable scorching heat of the fire elementals. Behind them stood a battalion of cavalry, strong candy soldiers mounted on candy horseback, swords drawn. Further back were platoons of slime, breakfast, spiky, goblin, snow, and lumpy soldiers, all prepared to make the stand against the lethal foes in front of them.

In the center of all the gathered forces stood Jake, stretched 50 feet tall with plates of armor that appeared to change size in sync with the dog's magical powers. On his back were Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, Ice King, and of course, Finn, all wearing some form of additional protection in respect to the coming fight.

Finn's arm had been completed, with a solid frame that supported a large blade at its end, obviously an interchangeable attachment for a somewhat normal gripping tool. He stood as valiant as the others, focused entirely on the menace before them. However, FP could still see a hint of despair in the young man's face. It reminded her of what she had done. Shaking off the creeping guilt, the fiery girl flew lower to the ground, hiding behind a nearby forest to make her way over to the army of fire elementals.

As she landed outside the gathered forces, the soldiers who spotted her gasped and widened their eyes. It was now that the princess could see their expressions. It was obvious that they did not want to fight. Making her way through the lines, the soldiers willingly parted a path for the young elemental to the center of the mass.

Emerging in an open space, Flame Princess was shocked at what she saw. Sitting in a mobile throne supported by a dozen servants, was Flame King, wearing a wicked grin upon his flaming face. Upon noticing the arrival of the young queen, the tyrant's smile grew larger.

"Well! If it isn't the noble princess of flames. Come to join your old man in conquering Ooo?"

FP was astonished but spat back a reply.

"How did you get out!? Much less take control of the Fire Kingdom!"

The king laughed a hard laugh that left a sour taste in the girl's mouth.

"Without you the citizens were weak and leaderless. Naturally they turned to their only hope of order, me. As for pushing them back to the ways of evil, well, it only took a small demonstration of strength from yours truly to make them realize I had far greater power than you."

Flame Princess stared at her father with deep loathing. Her unstable flames grew, causing some of the soldiers to back off. Flame King just continued grinning.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me…"

He fired a powerful stream of flames at his daughter, who was unable to dodge due to her rage. She flew a few feet before hitting the ground. Many soldiers had a look of shock.

"You're grounded!"

Bellowing a vile laugh, Flame King proceeded to order his forces forward, otherwise suffer his wrath. They didn't need to be told twice and reluctantly charged ahead toward the gathered allies of Ooo. Atop Jake, Princess Bubblegum pointed her sword at the oncoming fire elementals, ordering her people to join the charge.

Flame Princess recovered slowly as the marching warriors around her made careful sure not to trample over her. They weren't inflicted with evil, just fear. Finally able to stand, FP shook her senses to focus and shot up into the air. There was no stopping the initial clash, shown as the line of rock soldiers smashed into the charging pikes of the first wave of fire elementals.

Though holding at first, the stone giants were slowly forced back by the sheer number of fire blasts coming from behind their shields. The next waves moved in, quickly becoming a massive crowd of chaos and battle.

Jake and his group were slowly lowered into the fray, where everyone except Bubblegum hopped off to fight. Flame Princess spotted them and headed for the yellow dog, who was the only distinguishable figure among the fighters. As she approached hoping to find Finn, another object caught her attention. A massive fireball headed straight toward Jake and PB, which the two didn't notice until the heat was bearing down on them.

The princess and canine shut their eyes awaiting the impact, only to hear a blast of fire that knocked the flaming rock out of the way, crashing harmlessly to the group. They opened their sights to see a hovering Flame Princess. The candy monarch glared at her.

"This changes nothing," she pronounced coldly.

FP turned away, drawing up more energy from her body.

"It wasn't meant to."

She rocketed into the fight, knocking over as many of her troops as she could, hoping that they weren't too damaged from her blows. She did her best not to use fire. After a few minutes of making her way through the battlefield, FP heard the sound of swords crashing together. One sounded metal, but the other, was of an elemental make. Panicking, Flame Princess flew over the fighters until she saw what she was dreading.

Finn was locked in combat against Flame King. By the looks of it, he was losing. The large fire elemental was swinging a flaming sword down upon the human, who struggled to hold back the force with his own blade. It was keeping him alive but gave no progress toward overtaking his opponent.

"This will be most enjoyable, Finn the Human. To finally vanquish the vermin that's responsible for me losing power all those years ago. If you had known what was good for you, you would've never even spoken to my daughter."

Typical Flame King, using psychology as an additional weapon against his enemies. The young man was visibly hit by the tyrant's words and couldn't cover an opening, allowing his foe to give him a strong punch to the gut. He was sent flying several yards, disoriented and helpless as the king approached him. The vile being raised his fire sword to cleave the human in half, bringing it down with great satisfaction.

However, the only contact that the blade made was with another flame sword, which glowed blue from its intense heat. Finn adjusted his recovering senses and stared in awe at his savior. Flame Princess stood before him, protecting him from the evil king who was now astonished by the appearance of his daughter.

"I said you were grounded young lady!"

He forced more pressure on FP's fiery blade, quickly bringing the girl to her knees as she struggled against the massive strength of her father. Flame King began to smile, before a figure leaped up from behind the female elemental and made a swift slash across his chest.

The tyrant recoiled, yelling in pain at the wound that was now leaking red magma from his armor. He glared at the attacker, who repositioned his arm sword for another strike.

"You'll die slowly human, mark my words!"

Flame King charged at Finn, who made use of his agility to catch off his foe's initial swing, parrying the blow and delivering his own to the vile ruler's leg. The fire elemental shouted another cry of pain, growing angrier by the second. As he swung around to crush Finn into the ground, FP appeared and blocked the hit with the edge of her blade. As Flame King took a step back to recover, both the young man and the fiery girl took offensive positions.

Before the tyrant could begin another charge, the two teenagers sprinted directly at him. He took a large swing at them but was met with empty air. Finn had reemerged behind him, having jumped over, while Flame Princess slid underneath the strike. Both of them plunged their weapons into the king's back and chest.

Roaring with anguish, the evil being quickly retreated into his flame form, taking his badly damaged armor with him. After reforming away from the duo, he glared at his opponents with absolute hatred.

"I've had enough!"

The two responded by charging again. They expected the king to attempt another blow with his flame sword but at the last moment, he dissipated it. Caught by surprise, the teens tried to halt their attack, only to be grabbed at their collars by the enraged fire elemental. He held them up to the sky and let loose a might burst of flames from both hands. FP was sent flying in one direction, while the heavily burned Finn was shot in another.

Finn landed against a large boulder, grunting as his spine was smashed against the hard surface. Before he could get up, his metal arm was grabbed by a fiery hand and violently pressed against the rock. Flame King intensified the heat of his grip and eventually melted the young man's appendage to the surface of the stone. The hero struggled but was completely helpless to defend himself as the fiery man produced his flame sword, aiming at the human's heart.

"Now perish, and return to extinction human!"

Finn squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the end would be fast. The end never came. There was piercing of flesh, but it wasn't his. He shot open his gaze to a horrific sight.

Flame Princess stood facing him, a look of misery upon her face as she stared into the young man's blue eyes. Finn couldn't react as he observed the blazing weapon piercing the girl's body. His pupils trembled at the sight.

"Finn….now!"

The fire elemental used her own searing blade to sever the part of the human's arm welded to the boulder. On instinct, the hero reached behind into his pack and drew out his crimson demon sword. After a quick jump over the princess, he drove the tip of the weapon straight into Flame King's heart.

The tyrant staggered, his sword dissipated as he recoiled several steps, clutching his newest wound. As the look of shock grew on his face, he collapsed onto his back, attempting to scream in agony. As the king lay dying, both sides noticed and stopped their fighting.

Flame King finally stopped jerking his body and let out a last gasp. His eyes disappeared and his flame body shrank swiftly. Before long, all that was left was his ruined copper armor. The fire soldiers immediately began dropping their weapons, willingly surrendering to the forces of Ooo.

Jake, Marceline, Ice King, and Princess Bubblegum rushed through the crowd, desperately trying to reach their friend. As the armies parted a path, the scene before them brought sorrow to their faces.

Finn was lying against the boulder, a dimming Flame Princess gathered in his arm, bleeding a small pool of magma on the ground. The young man was crying, despairingly looking into the girl's closing eyes. When the hero's friends reached him, they said nothing, they only surrounded the wounded couple, forming a circle around them.

FP finally managed to speak through heavy breaths.

"At least now, I can finally say that I'm sorry, for everything, Finn. Even if it means nothing, I'll gladly accept my fate for all the pain I've caused."

Everyone in the circle had now grown tears in their eyes, but none so sobbed greater than the young man holding the fire elemental. She was weak enough that he could hold her without burning up. Before FP could continue, Finn had wrapped his arm around her in an embrace. The girl was shocked.

"How, how could you stand to still show me kindness?"

Finn retracted his hold and stared into her golden eyes.

"Because Flame Princess, no matter what happens, I know that all this time, you were confused and frustrated, holding the burden of an entire kingdom on your shoulders at such a young age, forced to deal with swirling emotions, most of which were my fault."

He brought his forehead to hers.

"Look at all you did and try telling me you haven't apologized enough."

FP weakly looked around at the friends who were gathered. They all looked at the dying elemental with great pain in their eyes.

"I'm sorry FP, for all that I did," PB sobbed.

The fiery girl turned back to Finn, noticing he was also struggling to stay conscious. It was then that she remembered his grievous burns. Tears grew in her eyes as well, desperately thinking of a way to help the suffering young man. She thought hard, reaching deep back into her mind. Suddenly it popped. She turned to the yellow dog and brought back her voice.

"Jake, tell the fire soldiers to bring a man named Ferrum."

The canine was surprised at the request but noticed the determined look in the girl's face. He stretched himself over the battlefield, growing to massive proportions.

"Hey! We need a guy named Ferrum!"

The fire elementals quickly began looking around before a voice was heard among them.

"Here!"

Jake stretched a hand down to pick up the waving soldier. He quickly swung his extended limb over to the group before his hand became too burned. Ferrum rushed over to the site of the dying Flame Princess, kneeling down to hear what she had to say.

"What can I do your majesty?"

FP raised a hand to her chest.

"Please, transfer what little life force I have remaining to Finn."

The fire elemental was shocked, unaware that anyone knew he was an alchemist. The rest of the group was astonished at the request, none more so than Finn.

"What!? No! FP you can't do that!"

The princess held her hand to the hero's wet cheek, smiling.

"Finn, there's no way to save me, and if you don't get treated immediately, you won't make it."

The human buried his face in the girl's hair, continuing his sobbing. The princess just gave a comforting 'ssshhhh' as she nodded to Ferrum. Reluctantly, the alchemist used his flames to draw a transmutation circle than enveloped both teens. He then pressed both of his hands to the ground and let loose arcing electricity from his palms.

As the reaction began, the circle glowed orange and all eyes went wide. Finn's burns slowly began to dissipate as he relentlessly cried into the girl's now purplish doused locks. He finally drew back his face to look once more into the fire elemental's dimming eyes.

"But you can't die! I, I love you."

One last tear sprang from FP's eye as she brought her head up to gently kiss the human's lips, lasting as long as she could before her neck could no longer support the moment. By this time, the girl's body began to disintegrate, flowing all of its energy into the healing young man.

"I love you too, Finn. And I'll always be right here, with you forever."

With her last strength, the princess had pressed her hand against Finn's heart. After a few seconds, her arm evaporated into the wind, followed by the rest of her abdomen and chest. Her last expression was a smile of joy before her face scattered into nothingness.

Finn held his hand in a fist, eyes tightly shut. Around him, everyone had their heads bowed in silence. Unknown to anyone, a ghostly figure landed next to the boulder. The outsider walked over to Finn's anguished form and kneeled next to him, attempted to wipe away his tears. Sadly, the glowing fingers phased right through them.

Flame Princess joined the rest in lowering their heads in solace.

"I'm sorry Finn, she did the best that she could."

After a few moments of peace, a new voice had joined.

"And so have you Flame Princess."

FP spun around to see the guardian, standing with his staff, eyes closed. She was astonished to see a tear of his own slowly trickling down his face. He didn't bother to wipe it away and opened his gaze upon the fire elemental.

"You have passed your trial young princess."

With that said, he struck the ground with his rod and a blinding light filled the area, eventually engulfing both of the phantasmal beings.

When FP next opened her eyes, she was standing on the beautiful tiled floor of the Citadel's courtyard. In front of her stood the guardian, stoic as always. Beside him was the black prism containing Finn in temporal stasis. The girl looked to the object then back to the guardian. The man stepped aside and gestured with his staff to the Citadel's door, which slowly opened with an intricate set of locks and mechanisms.

"Fifteen minutes have passed. If you truly wish to help the one you love, then go forth and claim your desire."

Giving a moment to take it all in, Flame Princess rushed forward past the prism and the guardian, immediately climbing the stairway the door had revealed.

_Hold on Finn, I'm coming._

* * *

_**Ugh, major writer's block on this one, hope its alright. (Also the reason for the late posting, sorry about that guys)**_

_**Anyway, be looking out tomorrow night for a little something new that I'm hoping will be successful. Later.**_

_**next:** _Chapter 13: All roads, have led to this


	13. Chapter 13: All roads, have led to this

Chapter 13: All roads, have led to this

Like the rest of the fortress, the stairway leading into the heart of the mysterious structure was tinted a brilliant gold. Both walls were lined with torches that blazed a deep blue, lighting the way inside. Of course, Flame Princess didn't have the time to admire the scenery.

_Five minutes. Five minutes before the end of Finn's trial. I've got to hurry._

Realizing she was running, FP slapped her face and jumped into the air to blast her way at breakneck speeds further within the Citadel. After a few minutes, she emerged from the deep corridor into a massive circular room. All along the walls there were numerous columns, decorated with the same two symbols that lay upon the gate outside. The ceiling held dozens of transparent tubes, all leading into the room's main attraction: a massive blue orb floating halfway between the roof and the floor. Noticeably, the ground looked like a puzzle, containing various lines that separated the tiling into sections.

Flame Princess gazed in wonder for a moment at the sphere of pure energy. There was something peaceful about the object that drew her toward it. As the fiery girl approached, the orb instantly reacted, shooting a translucent beam which enveloped the fire elemental. Her first instinct was to move out of the way of a potential danger, but the Ancestral Flame suddenly kicked in, emitting a comforting heat telling the young queen that all would be fine.

FP took a step closer to the orb and closed her eyes, bringing her hands together on her chest.

"Please, I want to help Finn. Send me back, so I can find a way."

Unlike Prismo, the divine power of the Citadel of Truth did not require specific details, all it had to do was read the person's mind to know exactly what they desired. The orb slowly turned a shade of orange, peering deep into the princess's thoughts. After confirming what the girl had said, it returned to its original color and began to spin at an accelerated pace.

Flame Princess opened her eyes and watched at the artifact above her grew as it spun, beginning to envelope the room in a brilliant glare of blue light. FP covered her face as a final flash sent her on her way.

* * *

Uncovering her gaze once more, the princess of flames found herself astonished. She was outside the Citadel. Standing before her was Finn, with a nervous look upon his face. The temporal prism lay open nearby, and the guardian was patiently waiting behind the human. The young man had his arms around her, and was running his fingers through her crimson hair.

"Trust me Flame Princess, it would be so much worse."

He laid a kiss on her cheek before letting go and turning to face the guardian. Before he could nod to the man though, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back at the fiery girl, he received a hard slap to the face, causing him to flinch. FP had a serious look upon her face.

"Finn the Human, swallow that integrity right now, look me in the eyes, and say what you have to say!"

The hero was shocked by the outburst, unaware of where the princess's powerful tone had come from.

"But, but…"

FP's flames grew slightly as she narrowed her eyes.

"Finn…"

She was really serious now, and the human didn't dare continue to argue. He sighed, defeated, and reached into his backpack, concealing the small box with the ring within his hands. He faced the fiery girl again and took a deep breath.

_Ok Finn, you can do this. _

"FP, our years together, whether as a couple or as friends, have been the greatest moments of my live. You're the sunrise in my soul, the very passion in my heart, and many times I have told you I would do anything to be right next to you through thick and thin."

The young fire elemental was listening intently, not yet sure what he was getting at.

"Although I already decided that my future would be to watch over the Fire Kingdom alongside you, as you had hoped, I want to make the move that will seal the deal."

Finn got to one knee and rested the ring box on his outstretched palm, looking deeply into the young ruler's golden eyes. FP's serious and focused look broke away in a second, replaced with one of astonishment as she covered her open mouth with her hands. The young man opened the box.

"Flame Princess, will you do me the honor of being the strongest, kindest, and most beautiful wife I could ever hope to find in all of the multiverse?"

A tense moment occurred as Finn didn't dare blink from his sight upon the princess of flames. Her amber gaze trembled for several agonizing seconds as the hero nervously awaited the reply. Then, lava began leaking from her sparkling eyes, running down her glowing cheeks, and finally gathering at her chin.

_Oh crud, am I doing something wrong? Did Lady cry when Jake did this? Shoot I can't remember! Dang it Finn, why do you gotta have such a poo brain you idio-_

His internal argument was interrupted as Flame Princess threw herself into him, causing both of the teens to fall to the ground as the fiery girl squeezed Finn beyond his capacity to breath.

"Oh my Glob Finn, of course! Nothing would make me happier than to have you be the closest man in my life!"

She raised her head from the death hug to reveal the beaming smile across her face. Finn took a moment to process the past minute or so before returning the smile. Even if current standings made it impossible to feel the full strength of the act, both joined their lips in a deep kiss of joy and love. They held together for as long as they could breathe (which for Finn was already hard) before Flame Princess got off of the young man and helped him stand up.

Finn plucked the ring off of its position within the box and gently took FP's hand, sliding the golden band onto her finger. As the princess examined the emerald on its surface-a few stray tears still running down her face-Finn pulled his own ring from his pocket and slipped it on as well. FP watched as he once again took the girl's hand in his.

The fiery elemental was surprised by the sudden increase in warmth emanating from the metal band. She looked to Finn was a look of wonder. He just smiled and leaned his forehead to touch hers.

"The closer these rings are the warmer they become, forever linking the fires of our hearts."

FP's eyes began trembling again before she once again embraced the young man she loved. That single moment of happiness was enough to overwhelm any thoughts of separation and fear, for in that embrace, time did not exist nor matter to either of them. The promise of being together was greater than any challenge or trial could ever surpass.

After finally pulling back and holding each other's hands, the human and fire elemental simply allowed their sights to melt together as they always did.

"I love you FP."

"I love you too Finn. I'll be right here, waiting."

One last quick kiss and the young man turned around to face the guardian. Both teenagers were shocked to see him with his mouth hanging open. Confused, they looked around until they saw what he was staring at. The Ancestral Flame was surrounding them, glowing pink with its persistent display of infinity.

"It can't be," the towering protector whispered.

Finn walked up to him.

"What do you mean?"

The guardian shook his thoughts out and regained his stoic look. The Flame retreated.

"For another time human. Now step through the rift to begin your trial."

Irritated by having the being dodge the question, Finn gave him a light glare before proceeding to the opening of the dark prism. He gave one last smile at FP before stepping through the portal and into total isolation.

As he did, Flame Princess felt the atmosphere destabilize as her vision blurred and the area was flooded with a blue flash.

* * *

The fiery girl stood with her hands to her chest, in the center of the room within the Citadel. Above her, the blue orb was silently hovering in the midpoint between floor and ceiling. It gave no indication of movement. FP slowly looked down at her hand, worried that it had all been a dream.

But surly enough, resting on her finger was the emerald-embedded ring of gold that Finn had bestowed upon her when he proposed. Clutching the band with her other hand, Flame Princess felt a few tears slide down her face.

_Thank you, Finn._

Wiping away the lava drops, the princess quickly turned around and fired herself full force back into the corridor and down the stairs. She knew there was little time left for her to help the young man, only hoping that he could hold on just a few more years as she rocketed toward the exit.

Finally emerging from the temple, FP slowed herself and landed next to the black prism. The guardian studied her carefully.

"Three minutes remain. He won't make it. I can tell you that as a fact."

FP placed her hand against the wall of the isolated dimension. The ring upon it began to raise its heat, sensing the presence of its twin through the temporal rift between them.

"No, he will."

* * *

(isolation, 1365 years in)

Finn's body didn't even move. He had no reason to make it do so. Floating endlessly made it very unnecessary to do well, anything. His eyes appeared hollow, with no emotion and barely any thought behind them.

_That it. I stay longer, I forget how say stop._

He had begun losing his grasp of language.

"Tall man, please end tri-"

A sudden burst of warmth cut him off. It was coming from his hand. Moving for the first time in years, Finn gazed at his hand. Upon it sat a plain golden ring. To the human however, it was far more than just that.

_Ring. Heat. Close to other. Flame Princess. _

His eyes grew wide as the paradox his girlfriend created finally kicked in, triggering the rapidly fabricated memories hidden deep within his mind. The slap, the proposal, the kiss and hug. It all blossomed throughout his consciousness. The last thousand years were suddenly overwritten with feelings of joy and anticipation. For all that time, he had proof that Flame Princess was just beyond that barrier, waiting for him to exit the dimension and claim the final reward.

_I lose track time. But not matter. Go on, for love._

(1458 years in)

Finn gently rocked himself to and fro, enjoying the zero gravity while he imagined he was cuddling with FP in a swinging hammock, tied between two large palm trees facing the sea, with a gorgeous sunset looking back at them.

(1599 years in)

The young man burst out laughing, discovering how much the ring's heat tickled when he placed it near his kidneys. He took the ring off and spun it in midair. His eyes were fixed upon the glowing infinity symbol that whirled around in the spinning metal.

(Time's up)

The human's attention was caught by a light nearby. He looked toward the source to discover a crack growing in the middle of space. Shortly afterwards, it burst open, revealing a rift in the dimension.

_Over._

Finn floated toward the exit, seeing more and more light as he went. In the last moments of weightlessness, he felt nothing but renewal.

The dark prism spat out the hero as quickly as it had taken him. With the foreign inhabitant no longer present, it dissipated into quantum energy that scattered into the air. Finn landed with a thump on the Citadel floor, completely disoriented. Flame Princess quickly gathered the young man in her arms, trying to shake him awake.

As she continued her efforts, the end of the guardian's staff poked the human in the forehead, followed by an intense white light. When the towering figure had removed his possession, Finn's eyes slowly readjusted, drifting over to look at FP. Their sights melted as they instinctively brought their faces together. The guardian held up his hand.

"Wait! You're flame shield is long gone and…..you don't really care," he sighed as the teens ignored his advice.

They were too busy sharing a reuniting kiss to give a second thought to the consequences.

"Yeah, I figured."

The tall being patiently waited for them to break the contact between their faces, only to end up standing there for an additional ten minutes or so as they repeatedly took in more air before continuing. At last, realizing that no matter how much they ignored physics Finn's mouth was about to fall apart, they pulled away and helped each other stand up.

The guardian shot a green beam from his staff at the hero's burns, instantly healing the skin.

"Thanks guardian," the young man said with sincerity.

The being held up his hand.

"Please, call me Sentin."

The two teenagers smiled and gave the man a small bow.

"Thank you Sentin, for all your help in getting to where we are now."

Finn reached out for a handshake, which the cloaked man gladly accepted.

"It was the two of you who passed the trials, regardless of the 'help' you received."

The human shrugged, then turned to FP.

"So, mind explaining what happened while I was in there?"

He held up his hand with the ring to clarify what he meant. The girl scratched the back of her head while chuckling nervously. Then, she began explaining the whole crazy thing to the hero.

* * *

Finn was astonished through every detail of the fire elemental's story. As she concluded the tale, he gave her a loving embrace, thankful of how far she went to aid him in the torturous stasis. Sentin had removed most of the memories of the ordeal, but Finn requested that he keep some of them, to always remember that the prize was worth the effort.

Taking a break from recollecting thoughts, Flame Princess turned her attention to the protector of the Citadel.

"Sentin, what was the **real **goal of my trial?"

The guardian sighed, shaking his head.

"That woman, always sticking herself in my work."

FP was confused. The Flame began fluctuating, as if laughing at the man.

"The true purpose was for you to finally understand the full potential of the precursor within you, and to understand what could happen if you should ever lose control while using it."

The young queen quickly went over the explanation and jumped straight to that which was unclear.

"What's a _precursor_?"

Finn had also heard the explanation and stood next to his lady with the same confused expression. Sentin put his hand over his face.

"How about instead of asking me all the technical stuff you two stop bothering me and walk into the Citadel."

He tapped his rod on the floor and the maze-like locks of the door unlatched themselves, once more revealing the golden stairway to the interior of the fortress. After layering Finn with another flame shield, he motioned toward the entrance.

"Go. Claim your desire and then you can ask your questions. A friend of mine will explain it all."

The two outsiders nodded to each other and Finn gripped FP's hand as she shot forward to fly up the stairs. As they disappeared beyond sight, the massive door closed behind them.

"Ugh, teenagers."

* * *

The straight shot to the central room was a quick journey, mostly due to the realization that now, nothing except a few more yards of tile stood between them and the freedom they desperately needed. As FP set Finn down in front of the orb, the human gazed in awe at the architecture of the surroundings. The fiery ruler began pushing him.

"Come on Finn, you can admire the design later."

The hero let out a laugh.

"Someone's a little eager."

Surprisingly, the elemental didn't smack him.

"You're damn right I am."

Finn blushed a bit before telling his fiancée to let him move on his own. She complied and the young man stared at the blue orb. He closed his eyes and a beam was fired down upon him. Letting out a breath, the hero stated his desire.

"Great Citadel, please let nothing stand between me and the girl I love."

The orb scanned the human's mind, immediately asserting that this was definitely his deepest wish. The sphere began rotating at increasing speeds as Finn opened his eyes and took a step back. The orb turned orange, whirring frantically before letting loose a thin laser from its core. The light pierced the young man straight through the heart, but instead of pain, he felt like something had been ignited.

His entire body felt like a gentle flame was crawling up his veins, eventually engulfing his entire body like a withered tree set ablaze. The sensation reminded him of hugging Flame Princess. The process continued until eventually, the heat began to fade. Before long, Finn could feel no more burning anywhere on him, except for his heart.

The higher temperature in his organ spiked with each beat, as if the blood running through it was lighter fluid, feeding the flames. At last, the burning receded entirely and Finn felt as normal as ever. He looked up to the orb. It had stopped its spinning, shining blue and vibrantly. The flame shield was gone.

Turning around, the young man saw a patiently (and nervously) waiting Flame Princess. He slowly took steps toward her until they were within reaching distance. Curious, both teens held up their hands and put them together, interlacing the fingers. The rings upon them heated up significantly, but that was the **only** thing heating up.

Finn stood looking stunned at his completely undamaged hand, feeling the warm soft skin of the girl he loved. The touch was real, no protective barriers or scorching heat to block it. A few moments later, the hero looked back to Flame Princess, who was wearing the most eerie of smiles.

The young man was honestly a bit creeped. He suddenly felt the fire elemental tugging quite strongly at his arm. He resisted.

"FP, why are you looking at me like that? FP?"

Finn was nervously trying to get his hand back, only to have the princess pull it harder.

"Uh, are you sure you're ok? Cuz you're almost scaring m-"

A split second before his sentence was finished, Flame Princess had released the tension on her pull, which, combined with Finn's, allowed her to be slingshoted into him, where she caught his open jaw with hers before they both tumbled to the floor of the Citadel. Completely lost in bewilderment, Finn could only lay there as the fiery girl skipped right over simple smooching and dived right into the young man's mouth.

He was paralyzed. Not only because of the unpredicted impulse that FP had just displayed, but by the overflow of heat rising in him, unable to process the amount of intimacy the girl had just laid into him with. After a minute or so however, Finn finally managed to wrap his arms around her back and began moving around his own tongue. They both explored each other, the need to continue their current act providing the knowledge to breathe through their noses so they wouldn't have to break away.

Eventually, the couple began rolling around from the force of their make out. The Ancestral Flame practically erupted from the young queen, expanding to encompass the entire room with a blinding infinity. The two went further. FP felt over Finn's developed muscles while the human ran his hands along the girl's back. The dress the Flame had bestowed upon fusing with her left the majority of her upper back exposed, allowing for the young man to feel the soft skin right against his fingers.

Unknown to either of the overjoyed teens, the room around them began to react to the might of the Ancestral Flame. The columns began to rotate in their sockets, moving unseen gears from below the floor. The tiles themselves began to pull apart at the edges, disassembling a puzzle that was hidden the whole time. The entire vicinity felt to be rotating, as if the temple's whole core comprised of massive sprockets imbedded in the floors.

The blue orb began to turn translucent, then slowly expanded as the lovers continued their passionate actions. The tubes feeding energy into the sphere began to retract, moving into the ceiling before disappearing behind various panels. Pillars of transparent crystals emerged from the gaps the floor tiles had created, forming a circle in the center of the room.

For the transformation's final act, the now enormous orb began to fabricate holographic images within itself, generating a complex pathway through what appeared to be various dimensions. With this last movement, the room ceased its mechanical metamorphosis and went silent. Neither of the two beings inside it had heard a thing, too distracted by each other's slight moans.

After a few more minutes, a loud voice echoed off the walls.

"Ahem!" it coughed.

Finn and Flame Princess both froze at the sound, which was actually large enough to catch their attention. Before them hovered a robotic sphere with a multitude of thin metal arms, each one supporting four fingers that looked as delicate as twigs. In the center of the sphere was a screen, much like Beemo's, that projected a face, one that looked quite un-amused and irritated.

"If you don't mind, could you please stop doing tier 9 all over my floor?"

The couple's faces flushed heavily. For a moment they both couldn't move, before scrambling to stand up and nervously gather their senses.

"Oh, uh, sorry, hehe," Finn replied with a weak laugh, rubbing his arm.

Flame Princess was holding her hands behind her, staring into the floor with her scarlet cheeks.

"What the? What happened to this room?"

Finn gazed at the transformation the circular area had experienced. FP joined in, astonished by the difference. The robotic being just sighed.

"You two activated the map to Infinity."

The couple stared at the machine with shock.

"What!? How could us mak…uh, doing, that, cause the whole place to change?"

The computer floated closer and pointed a needle-like finger behind Flame Princess.

"Because of that mischievous thing behind you."

Turning around swiftly, the human and fire elemental set their eyes on the Ancestral Flame, which was slowly morphing into the silhouette of a woman. Their eyes grew wide. As it finished, it put a flickering white hand to its mouth and giggled. Both outsiders raised an eyebrow, then looked back to the robot.

"Sorry, let's start over here. My name is Index, keeper of the archives of the Citadel of Truth. And, also the one who makes sure the people who step in here don't touch any sensitive materials."

The bot gave them a glare. They both looked around awkwardly, avoiding the machine's gaze. Before continuing, Index waved one of his arms toward the massive orb at the room's center and instantly, it began to shift once more. After a few minutes, the place had returned to its previous design, hiding the illusive 'map' from sight.

FP walked up to the mechanical keeper and cleared her throat.

"So, are you Sentin's friend that he mentioned?"

Index groaned, bringing a hand to pinch his nonexistent nose bridge.

"Ugh, I swear, no one around here can keep their mouth shut. What did he manage to blurt out this time?"

The fiery ruler was a bit confused but nevertheless responded.

"Well, he said that if we had any questions that you would answer them."

The robotic sphere took a long sigh.

"Fine. What do you wish to know? You deserve that much for getting in here I suppose."

Flame Princess thought back to the guardian's statement as Finn stood patiently beside her. After a moment, she raised her head to look into the keeper's pixelated eyes.

"What is a precursor?"

Index was silent for a minute, then hovered higher into the air, gazing intently at the ceiling.

"A being or object that originated from an earlier cycle of the universe."

The humanoids' eyes went wide. They returned their attention to the fiery white entity behind them. It was still silently standing there, trying very hard not to laugh. Finn turned his head to look back up to Index, who was glaring at the Flame with persistent irritation.

"Cycle?"

The robot floated back down to the ground, bringing himself eye-level with the hero.

"Correct. Though you may not know it human, your race knew a great deal about the origins of existence before the Great Mushroom War. Our universe holds a delicate cycle of birth and death, an artificial process that the very first-"

Index's eyes froze. His body began emitting strange sounds from within.

"Security breach. A dark presence has entered the perimeter of the Citadel. I cannot reveal more for safety reasons."

The computer focused its sight upon the three forms in front of him.

"You must go. Once the threat has been cleared I promise to finish my explanation, but you must hurry. This fortress contains information beyond the eyes of mortals and immortals alike, it has to be protected at all times."

Disappointed at the interruption, but understanding the situation, the couple nodded. The Ancestral Flame quickly receded into the fire elemental's body. With the force of divine creation with her again, FP took Finn's arm.

"Hold on," she stated.

A stream of white flames erupted form the girl's lower body, nearly ripping the young man's arm off with the sudden acceleration. Nevertheless, he hung on as she charged down the stairs and raced for the exit. In record time, the two reached the entrance, which swung open as they approached.

Outside in the courtyard once again, Finn and FP looked around for Sentin. The guardian was standing in the center of the clearing, staring intently at the gate through which the couple had passed beneath earlier.

After another short wait, a chill ran through the air. Finn cringed slightly, the feeling was familiar, it was an old feeling, but one he could never forget. He took hold of his fiancée's hand, holding it tightly. The fire elemental turned to him with concern.

"Finn, what is it, what's wrong?"

The human narrowed his eyes as a figure began to appear in the gate. His face was contorted with a mixture of hatred and determination. He didn't answer, refusing to take his sight off of the new arrival, whose rotting flesh was obviously not his own, evidenced by the visible horned skull on the being's left side, while the right held what remained of a balding man with a long white beard. The creature's body revealed much bone, yet it remained walking until finally halting a few yards from Sentin. It looked beyond the guardian and immediately sent a loathing stare of disgust at the human.

"Why must it be, every time I am close to my goal, it is always **you **who stands in my way?"

Finn stepped forward, moving slightly in front of Flame Princess, narrowing his gaze further. His pupils where trembling from the anger within him.

"Lich."

* * *

_**As always, hope you enjoyed and please review.**_

_**next:** _Chapter 14: Return of the Necromancer


	14. Chapter 14: Return of the Necromancer

Chapter 14: Return of the Necromancer

As the greatest evil in the known lands stepped forward, it reached out a rotting finger to point at the guardian of the ancient fortress.

"I seek entrance to the Citadel, now begin my trial."

Finn took a step forward as well, bringing up a clenched fist.

"Forget it creep, you won't be getting anywhere near your wish this time!"

The Lich increased his glare at the human.

"Silence boy! I know the rules of this temple! The guardian has no choice, he must give any that challenge the Citadel their trial."

Finn looked to Sentin for confirmation. Sadly, the towering man nodded. The hero was shocked but returned his attention to the unholy being before them. The Lich took several more steps forward. Finn attempted to begin a charge at his enemy but Sentin blocked the young man with his arm. The cloaked protector shook his head, then motioned to Flame Princess, himself, and back to Finn.

After a moment of confusion, the human understood and nodded. The necromancer was silently observing them. As their non-verbal conversation ended, Finn stepped over to FP, gave her a quick kiss, and gave her a look that explained the plan. She nodded. The two teens then proceeded to take positions on either side of Sentin as he slammed his staff against the floor.

The water within the micro-aqueducts instantly floated up, then vaporized into the air. From where the liquid ran, the empty ditches glowed brightly with a blue energy. As the field was set, Finn pulled out his demon blood sword while Flame Princess ignited the full power of the Ancestral Flame, turning her skin angelic white and her flowing hair electric blue. Sentin meanwhile, grabbed his cloak and disposed of it, throwing it off as it dissipated into thin air.

Underneath the man's cover was a well-toned physique, complete with spell casting tattoos that ran all the way up his sleeveless arms and even expanding up his neck and down the sides of his torso, which were exposed due to the style of the crimson vest he was wearing. The clothing also revealed the center of his chest, which hosted the overlapping symbols present throughout the Citadel.

Upon the man's neck sat a silver necklace, which held a shimmering sapphire, cut perfectly into a diamond shape. His lower body consisted of garb reminiscent of a samurai, a long warrior's skirt that reached almost to his feet. Heavy greaves could be seen underneath the dark fabric, as well as Sentin's boots, which appeared to be meant for combat.

A heavy bracer was attached to each forearm, hosting two retracting daggers. Upon his head was set a silver headband that held a blue crystal in the space above his forehead. As a last act, the guardian lifted his staff and began spinning it rapidly. The outer shell of the rod lit up then shattered into space, leaving behind an elegant double headed spear that was almost as tall as its wielder. Finn stared in awe as did the fiery princess.

_Holy stuff, _thought the human. _Who was this guy?_

Sentin stabbed his weapon into the ground, rocking the entire courtyard. The Lich appeared un-phased by the display. Before continuing, the guardian held his hand to his necklace and emitted a strange aura from the object. In a matter of seconds, the sapphire spilt off two identical copies of itself, which flew themselves over to Finn and Flame Princess, forming a thin silver chain around their necks as the gem settled on their chests. A magical bubble flickered around their heads before disappearing.

"Very well. Your trial, is to be the last one standing."

The necromancer growled at the three opponents before him. Soon enough though, he raised his arms and ignited them with demonic green flames, incinerating what little flesh was still upon them. The fires quickly spread to the rest of his body, erasing the final remains of the fallen hero Billy as they went. Soon enough, the Lich's tattered cloak was revealed, followed by the other side of his wicked horned skull.

"Fools! Do you have any idea how much raw energy drifts in the space between dimensions? For the last three years I have been gathering strength, trekking through this forsaken void searching for an escape."

The rotting skeleton pointed to Finn's necklace.

"Possession or not, I have the power to disintegrate you where you stand boy!"

The human barred his teeth.

"Just try it, monster."

He then looked over at Sentin, then FP, who was looking a bit nervous.

"You sure we can take him?" he asked the guardian.

The man glanced over at the hero, the hint of a smile across his face.

"Well, one of the greatest close-combat specialists in Ooo, the queen of the fire elementals, and two precursors. I'd say our odds are in favor."

Finn and Flame Princess both stared at Sentin with surprise. The human then returned his sights to the Lich.

"I suppose we saw that coming."

The guardian just smirked.

"Indeed."

The necromancer took another step forward.

"Enough talk, lay down now and your deaths will be swift, and permanent."

He fired a ghostly stream of flames at the trio, only to have the blast effortlessly blocked by a wall of white fire that FP had thrown up.

"Let's do this," Finn stated with determination.

His companions nodded and charged through the wall with him, which the princess suddenly dissipated. The Lich conjured more flames and flung a fiery fist at Sentin, who caught the blow with his spear, shoving aside the undead limb and stabbed his weapon right through the unholy being. He then chanted a quick spell and the end of the spear let loose a devastating explosion, throwing the Lich backwards.

He landed against the arch marking the entrance to the courtyard and struggled to get up, revealing a massive hole through his chest. Finn was next, charging at incredible speds toward his foe. Though the vile wizard tried to throw more flames, the young man spun his sword to direct them away and pounced onto the being's head, driving his blade straight into his skull.

The Lich just laughed and grabbed the crimson weapon. Finn's eyes went wide.

_Oh crap, not again._

Within seconds, the demon sword began to weaken. The human struggled to pull it out, realizing he had a chance to escape with the family heirloom as its material was difficult for the necromancer to destroy. As he was about to give up, a bolt of searing flames pierced through the bony hand gripping the sword, shattering it. Though the Lich did not feel pain from the blast, he recoiled and allowed Finn to retrieve the crimson blade.

Unfortunately, the weapon was virtually unusable at this point, having become as fragile as glass. Finn cursed under his breath. FP came up to him as Sentin took over pushing back the unholy wizard, who was already regenerating his lost body mass. The fiery girl examined the now truly antiqued sword, giving her fiancé a saddened look.

Finn surprisingly tossed aside the useless object and pulled out his backup blade.

"No time for worrying about it, we've got to help Sentin."

The fire elemental nodded and they both turned back to the guardian's fight. Amazingly, he was now on the defensive, as a constant stream of cursed flames was slowly pushing him back. Although his spinning spear was dissipating most of the damage, he was obviously struggling.

"Take me up FP."

The girl put her arms underneath Finn's shoulders and launched into the air. After a good distance from the ground, the human signaled for her to release him. She complied and let the hero fall. Increasing speed, Finn aimed his leg to strike the Lich directly in his face, who was too distracted with trying to burn Sentin to a crisp.

A loud crack was heard as the human's foot bashed the necromancer with great energy, forcing the being's face into the floor, causing a small crater. Leaping back and landing next to the guardian, Finn began breathing heavily, anxiously awaiting the results of his strike. Sadly, the rotting wizard managed to get up and already began healing the grievous wound to his cranium.

Finn groaned.

"Damn. That's it! FP, finish this jerk!"

He looked to the sky where the girl was still hovering. She nodded and took a deep breath, concentrating on the power within her body. The Lich meanwhile, noticed her meditation and sprang into the air before either Finn or Sentin could strike him. He charged at the fire elemental with great speed, reaching out a bony hand to squeeze her neck.

A split second before he would've succeeded, Flame Princess unleashed a terrifying energy, rocking the entire floating Citadel as a monstrous pillar of flames descended from the sky. Impossibly attempting to resist the force of the blazing cyclone, the Lich's form was trapped within. His shredded cloak and what little of his own rotting flesh he had were instantly vaporized. The vortex only increase in intensity as FP concentrated every bit of the Flame's might into finally ending the dreaded necromancer.

However, no matter how hot the pillar became, the Lich's skeletal body remained intact. He began laughing his horse laugh, unnerving all three of his enemies. Finn struck the ground with his sword.

"Dang! Why won't he burn!?"

Sentin stared hard at the enveloped monster before them. He was still laughing, not affected any further by the white flames now attempting to incinerate him. Flame Princess grinded her teeth.

"Come on, come on, come on! Hotter, stronger!"

The girl was quickly exhausting herself in her frustration. It was no use, the blaze was simply not strong enough to finish the job. Before she knew it, the young queen began to lose consciousness. The column of white began to cool, turning blue, yellow, then orange, and finally red. The figure of the undead wizard disappeared beneath the crimson pillar.

After a moment, a shockwave of green flames blew the cyclone apart, dissipating the flames and knocking FP out of the sky. Already drained, the fire elemental didn't have the strength to hold herself up, falling far below toward the tiled floor of the courtyard.

"Flame Princess!"

Finn swiftly struck his sword into the ground and ran at the spot where his lady would eventually crash. Instead of standing directly below, he jumped into the air and caught the falling girl in his arms, hoping the early catch would slow her decent. Unfortunately, all it did was drag Finn along with her. The young man braced himself as he forced his body to be below FP's, determined to take most of the hit.

The impact was brutal, cracking the floor for a good several feet around them. The hero groaned as he swore some bones had been broken. He ignored the pain and examined his princess. She was still breathing, but was obviously out of energy. There was no way she could continue the fight.

Finn quickly carried her over to the wall of the Citadel and laid her down gently. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and promised her he'd be back soon. Turning back to the foe above, the hero saw Sentin once again being driven almost into the ground by the force of the Lich's unholy flames. Trying to run only reminded the human how injured he really was.

_Grob damn it! Get over there Finn. You can't let that psycho into the Citadel._

Yelling for his body to shut up, Finn made his way with a weak jog over to the struggling guardian. He retrieved his backup sword from the floor and ran to assist Sentin. As he slid next to the guardian, the man motioned for the hero to move closer. While holding back the green flames attempting to crush him, the protector of the temple placed his palm against his chest as several of the tattoos on his neck began to glow.

A moment later, Finn began to vanish, eventually becoming completely invisible. A second later, Sentin lost his guard against the ghostly fire and was slammed back against a wall. The skeletal Lich cackled as he lowered himself to the ground. Upon reaching the floor, the necromancer began to take steps toward the struggling guardian, who was desperately trying to stay on his feet.

Finn went on undetected, a few yards from his friend and the undead wizard. He felt hopeless.

_It's no use. No matter how much force we put into leveling him into the floor, he's just too strong._

The invisible human thought hard.

_What was it that Peebles once said? When brute force isn't enough to win the fight…_

Finn spotted a fountain near the wall adjacent to the approaching Lich. He then looked at the monster's skeletal feet, which were still hot enough to begin melting the golden tiles.

…_use __**science**__ instead._

The hero grinned as he rushed to the source of water, once more ignoring the splintering pain in his body. As he reached the flow of liquid, he turned to the oblivious Lich and cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Hey jerk-face!"

The necromancer swung his flaming skull to face the origin of the voice. Finn proceeded to kick the spout that was resupplying the fountain, breaking the machinery and causing the redirected stream of pure water to fire at the unholy creature. A piercing hiss filled the air as the liquid made contact with the Lich's nearly molten bones. He grunted in irritation as his temperature rapidly decreased. Sentin watched the event play out, impressed with the human's ingenuity.

Angered at the surprise attack, the undead wizard changed his direction to approach the hero, whose invisible spell was wearing off.

"I hope you enjoy an existence as ashes, boy."

Finn only smirked.

"Same to you, creep."

The necromancer stopped as he felt a strange sensation. Looking down, he was astonished to see his skeletal structure bringing to crack immensely. He gazed at his hands to see them beginning to fall apart before his eyes. The green pupils within his empty sockets trembled in disbelief.

"Now Sentin!"

Before the Lich could turn around, the guardian impaled both of his concealed bracer daggers deep into the monster's cranium, forcing the being to open his jaw in a stunned state. As his body continued to crumble, the evil wizard finally screamed in agony and rage. Quickly jerking his weapons in opposite directions, the guardian silenced the necromancer's cries and shattered its head, sending what was left of the creature's body falling to the ground.

With a large crash, the weakened bones tumbled into the floor, sending up a cloud of dust.

* * *

Sentin retracted his weapons, taking a knee as his breathing continued to go on it short gasping intervals. He looked over to Finn, who was slumped against the wall next to the fountain, barely conscious from the internal damage he had suffered. The guardian made his way over to the human and brought him into his arms, carrying the young man over to where Flame Princess was still out cold.

Setting the hero down next to his companion, Sentin put his palms together and closed his eyes while a large number of the tattoos on his side began to glow. Within a minute, the guardian gently separated his hands and touched both teenagers' foreheads, sending a green aura to surround their bodies. He eagerly waited.

A moment later, the human and fire elemental began to stir as the magical shrouds dissipated. Finn immediately felt his ribcage. It was fully healed, as was his back, leg, and whatever else had been jacked up. He then turned his attention to FP, who was placing a hand to her head. The young man scooted closer to her and put his arm behind her shoulders, using his free appendage to take the girl's other hand.

"You alright Flame Princess?"

The fiery girl readjusted her eyes and stared back at the human, forming a smile as she shifted her arms to embrace the one she loved. Finn returned the act, happy that she was safe.

"Yeah Finn, I'm fine."

Sitting back, the couple gazed into each other's eyes before turning their attention to Sentin, who was also relieved that they hadn't been too banged up. He smiled.

"Well done you two. Heh, you'd make good precursors yourselves you know. You could stay here to protect the Citadel and live together for all time."

The couple chuckled a bit as Flame Princess replied.

"Thanks for the offer Sentin but I think we'd get super bored of this place after the first few thousand years."

The guardian returned his own chuckle.

"Haha, of course. One can try though."

The man then turned to the human.

"Incredible job with that plan Finn. I never would have thought of it."

The hero scratched his head, smiling with a hint of embarrassment at the praise.

"Aw it was nothing. I guess I do learn some important stuff from my friend PB. Can't wait to see her reaction after this story."

The three laughed a bit more before getting to their feet. Before they could make their next move, the door to the Citadel opened, revealing a nervous Index floating just inside. The robotic sphere hovered quickly over to the group and immediately scanned them with a thin beam.

"Well, glad so see you are all still alive."

He gave a strange look to Finn.

"Even you, human."

The young man frowned at the suspended mechanical keeper. After approaching closer to the archivist, he stared him down.

"I get the feeling you have something against my kind. Am I wrong?"

Index tried to remain silent, but gave in with a sigh as Sentin frowned at him.

"Alright fine, I admit it. Yes, I unfortunately hold a bit of a grudge against your species. I can tell you the whole story later but just know that I hold nothing against you personally Finn, you have proven a capable and honorable defender of the Citadel."

The young man held his frown for another second then formed a small smile, reaching out his hand to the robot. Index looked at the outstretched appendage for a moment before slowly moving one of his many arms to grasp the human's grip with his own four fingers. They did a short shake and the keeper grew his own little humble smile.

"Glad to have earned your trust, Index."

The sphere nodded.

"Same to you."

As they stepped back from each other, the mechanical being once again dilated his eyes, releasing several high pitched noises before glaring out into the perimeter of the courtyard. The other three reacted, forming a circle around Index and darting their eyes about, searching for another intruder.

"No. Anyone but him."

Sentin turned his head to face his friend.

"Who is it Index?"

The archivist locked his vision on a space not far from the pile of bones that were the remains of the Lich. The others turned to see an unusual sight. A rift was forming nearby, slowly expanding before opening big enough for a person to walk through. And indeed, a person did walk through. A figure covered in a pitch black cloak emerged from the portal, setting him feet down without a sound on the floor of the courtyard.

The group watched intently as the new arrival made his way over to the pile of bone and ash and held his hand out to the remains. After a few pieces were dislodged and fell to the side, an intact fragment of the necromancer's arm was retrieved from the mount, levitating I front of the dark being. With several hand gestures, the fragment was cut apart until it was carved into a dull white shard.

The shard then hovering into the figure's hand, where he took hold of it and examined the item.

"This is more like it, pure evil. Not a trace of regret."

A sudden shout rang from the air.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

The figure turned to see Finn pointing his blade at him. Instead of responding, the man noticed the two inhabitants of the Citadel standing next to the human.

"Sentin and Index. Never thought I'd have to see your faces again."

The guardian stepped forward, glaring at the dark being.

"Same with us. What are you doing here?"

The shady figure held up the object he had crafted from the Lich's bone.

"Just claiming this Shard of Evil. Not that it matters to you."

Index shot forward, stopping a few feet in front of Sentin.

"Forget it you arrogant slime, you won't reach Eternity!"

The dark man placed the Shard into the depths of his cloak then turned back to the portal.

"I will thank you for taking care of the annoying part of my task. It was irritating enough to not find him waiting patiently in the Time Room. At least I had something to take my anger out on."

Finn's eyes widened as his mind flashed back to his vision.

_The Time Room, torn in half by some unknown force of destruction._

Before the pitch black being could step through the rift, he sensed an incoming object and turned to see the hero's sword flying at him. He instantly brought up his hand and stopped the weapon in midair. He looked dismissively at the thrower. Finn took several steps forward.

"What did you do to Prismo's dimension?"

His voice was like poison, a threat of attack present in it. The being simply stared at him and suddenly vaporized the sword, scattering its particles as if it was a sugar cube. Stunned but undeterred, the young man began running at the man, determined to punch the answers out of him.

Unfortunately, he was met with an unseen force as the cloaked man swiped his hand to the right, sending the hero flying toward a wall, where he promptly crashed and fell to the floor. Flame Princess quickly fire-dashed over to him, helping the hero to his feet.

"Finn, are you ok?"

The human nodded his head, cracking his neck. He looked back at the being to see him continuing toward the portal. Before he could attempt another charge, the Ancestral Flame shot itself out of FP and formed a wall of flames around the rift, blocking the man from entering.

Against the light of the fire, everyone noticed that the man had no shadow. Finn gasped, then looked closer. There appeared to be a dark aura around the man's outline, sticking to his movements perfectly as he attempted to force away the blazing barrier. The human suddenly realized the true nature of the intruder.

"He's…fourth dimensional."

Flame Princess looked at Finn with shock. Sentin and Index however, remained unaffected by the revelation. The cloaked man finally understood why he couldn't move the flames with his power. He grunted, most likely scowling under his hood.

"Solara. Get out of my way!"

The Ancestral Flame detached part of its wall and formed its humanoid shape. This time however, instead of just a silhouette, the woman emerged with full features, revealing a beautiful white dress similar to Flame Princess's and a wise yet attractive face that the fiery girl thought looked familiar. Stepping forward, the entity glared at the dark figure before her.

"You're not going anywhere Astrum."

The shadowy man tightened his hands into fists. He too took a step forward, taking a stance against the woman.

"If you don't move, I'll make you!"

He shoved an unseen force toward the fiery being, only to have her calmly hold up her hand and instantly halt the energy, rocking the entire courtyard from the invisible impact.

"Time-space will do you no good against flames you fool."

The cloaked man growled, picking up multiple chunks of the floor with his powers and violently shooting them at the manifested Flame. She once again deflected the attack, sending the debris flying to either side of her.

"I don't have time for this!" the dark being shouted.

He looked around and set his gaze upon Finn and Flame Princess. In an instant, he teleported right behind the couple. The human attempted to strike but was blown aside by the enemy's kinetic attack. FP tried to get to him but was grabbed by the neck. The higher dimension foe held the girl in the air, looked back at the three precursors that were about to charge at him.

"Back away from the portal, or she dies."

Sentin, Index, and Solara hesitated, and then ultimately stood down. The Ancestral entity lowered the barrier of flames, revealing the rift that still stood open. Astrum made his way to the dimensional doorway, apparently unable to teleport a foreign being with him. The three precursors glared at him, carefully watching his movements.

Reaching the opening in space-time, Astrum quickly shoved FP to the ground and made a break for the portal. However, there was one individual he had underestimated. A fist leveled him straight in the face, forcing the man to recoil and put his hand to the impact area. Recovering, he scowled at the figure of Finn standing between him and the rift. His face was contorted in disgust.

"Don't you dare treat my fiancée like that you bastard!"

Astrum was unaffected by the threat. He shoved another mass of kinetic energy at the young man, who braced for an impact. Crazily enough, a solid wall of rock erupted from the ground, blocking the shot as it shattered. Everyone in the courtyard, including the intruder turned at the sight of an orange glare in the distance.

Kneeling down near the golden arch, hands against the floor with a etched transmutation circle, was none other than Ferrum. The fire elemental looked up and gazed at the assembled individuals with a smirk.

"Cavalry's here gentlemen."

With that said, a massive yellow fist emerged from behind the alchemist with breakneck speed. Astrum only had time to cross his arms in front of his body before being slammed with tremendous force by the colossal hand. He wasn't able to hold the energy back and was pushed back until he was violently sandwiched into the wall.

Blasting aside the fist, Astrum attempted to recover fast, only to be struck by an unseen force right in the face. Another hit came to his stomach, followed by one in his shin, boing-loins, and again his face. Disoriented, he was caught off guard by a materializing girl in front of him, who proceeded to smash him in the face with a large red axe-bass.

The man was thrown several feet before he stopped his movement, digging his hand into the ground. He returned to his feet, gazing angrily at the floating black haired girl that had struck him. Before he could take a step forward though, he nearly fell. Looking down, he saw that his legs had been frozen to the ground. Too slow to break the hold of the ice, he was suddenly thrown into another wall by a powerful energy blast.

Finn had been stunned the whole time, unable to comprehend what was unfolding. He finally managed to trace the path of the blast to a smoking cannon-like weapon, which was held on the shoulders of a pink haired woman, standing on the head of a massive yellow dog. Finally, the human managed to speak.

"Guys! You're all here!"

Marceline slung her axe bass over her shoulders.

"Of course weenie. Couldn't let you have all the fun again now could we?"

Finn didn't even bother to roll his eyes. He just smiled as Jake stretched his way to his brother, lowering Princess Bubblegum to the ground, who pointed her weapon into the air and placed a hand on her hip.

"You really shouldn't be so reckless Finn. At least one of us should have gone with you two."

She was smiling, telling the hero that she was just concerned about a friend. Turning to face Jake, the young man suddenly remembered someone important.

"Flame Princess!"

Finn ran to the fiery girl's side, who was still dazed from the hostage situation. The human made sure she was ok before picking her up and carrying her over to Jake.

"Jake, could you make a place for her to rest?"

The dog raised an eyebrow. FP had regained some consciousness and looked up to the hero.

"Finn, no, I'll burn him."

The young man smiled, leaning in to kiss the girl on the lips. Pulling back, he placed her hand on the dog's head. At first the canine panicked, but then calmed down as no burning commenced. Both were surprised and stared at Finn. He just continued his smile.

"I didn't desire to be fireproof FP. I desired that **nothing **would stand between us. That includes hurting other people I care about."

The princess gazed into his blue eyes with astonishment before turning into an expression of joy. She buried her head into the young man's chest, embracing his neck as he held her.

"Thank you, Finn."

Jake meanwhile, stretched a part of his body into a beanbag chair, allowing Finn to place the exhausted fire elemental into the comfy seat. Marceline floated over to join the group, along with Ferrum and a certain ice wizard who had finally shown his face.

"Whoa, looks like you can finally snuggle with your girl Finn. Way to go man."

Ice King flew himself next to the human with a genuine smile. The young man raised an eyebrow.

"Even you came to help IK?"

The old man nervously tapped his fingers together.

"Well, of, of, course I did. We're bros!"

Finn turned to PB, who frowned.

"Actually, he followed us. I assume he was trying to kidnap me again."

Ice King held up his hands.

"No way sweetheart, I haven't bothered you in like five months!"

PB rolled her eyes. Finn gave a laugh, surrounded by his closest friends. Suddenly though, a crash was heard. The group turned around to see Astrum pulling himself out of a large hole in the wall, groaning with obvious injury. He held his head in his arm before looking up at the assembled friends. Their best guess was that he was scowling at them.

They all raised their weapons, preparing for another round. The three precursors surrounded him as well. Realizing he was obviously outmatched, the dark being set his sights on the portal just beyond Finn. He made a break for it, teleporting right in front of the rift. Solara quickly struck up a wall of flames, but this time Astrum telekinetically picked up several pieces of rubble and smothered the fire.

Finn turned to Bubblegum.

"PB shoot him, quick!"

The candy monarch aimed at the higher dimensional being and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, he managed to avoid the blast, throwing himself through the rift, which immediately closed behind him.

Everyone in the courtyard stared in disappointment at the empty space the portal had occupied.

* * *

Finn sat beside Flame Princess as the two of them explained the whole story to their friends. The ruined demon blood sword had been replaced in the young man's backpack. The three precursors had joined their group, patiently waiting for the conclusion of the explanation. As the tale ended at the point where Astrum appeared, they all stared at the ground in deep thought. Sentin spoke up.

"I'm afraid the appearance of Astrum had warranted an emergency situation."

He looked at the couple sitting on Jake's fur.

"Finn, Flame Princess, can these people all be trusted?"

The guardian gestured to the rest of the group. The young man looked straight into the towering man's eyes, placing his hand on his heart.

"With my very life, Sentin."

FP also looked at the guardian.

"That goes for me as well."

The man looked to Index, who nodded solemnly. Solara gave the same affirmation. The protector gave one as well.

"Very well then. It would be best if you all joined us in the Citadel. There is much to discuss."

Everyone stood up and watched as the three precursors walked to the door of the fortress. Finn helped FP stand up and they began following the trio hand in hand while the human motioned for all his comrades to join in. Jake, PB, Marcy, Ice King, and Ferrum all accepted the invite and walked alongside the couple as the door to the great temple opened at Index's command.

Finn increased his grip on Flame Princess's hand as they began climbing the stairs, worried how much more of his vision would come true.

* * *

**_Well...just a little bit freaked out after reading a certain review on 'Archives of Ooo'. Hoping to fix that situation later in this story so bare with me. _**

**_Hoped you enjoyed and please review. Later._**

**_next:_**Chapter 15: Secrets of the Universe


	15. Chapter 15: Secrets of the Universe

Chapter 15: Secrets of the Universe

The journey to the heart of the Citadel was made in silence, neither Ooocian nor precursor made a sound. A jumble of steps upon the golden stairway was the only thing breaking a most awkward climb. Eventually, the crowd began to dissipate, as several of Finn's friends kept up with Sentin while Index floated somewhere in the middle. Solara straggled in the back where the human and Flame Princess were, still holding hands while ascending the stairs.

The fiery girl looked at the side of the ancestral entity with curiosity. At this distance, it was clear whose image the precursor was copying. The night Finn had returned home to prepare for the trip to the Citadel, FP had decided to go with her father's last words. Remembering the Flame's ability to absorb the memories of those elementals that had died, she had reached deep into her mind to find the truth of her mother.

The tale was heartbreaking, but also provided closure for the young queen. Taking the chance to break the silence, FP spoke up.

"Um, Solara?"

The angelic entity turned her head to the fiery girl with a smile.

"Yes my dear?"

Flame Princess thought for a moment, and then looked back to the woman.

"Why did you take the form of my mother?"

Solara slowed her pace to walk right alongside the fire elemental, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Finn leaned his head forward, interested in the conversation.

"Well, I always thought she was quite the wise young woman, kind and honest. Her presence made me believe that the fire elementals could be seen as more than just bringers of destruction. I suppose you could say I had great respect for her."

The lady smiled brighter.

"Besides, she was also quite the looker, wouldn't you agree?"

Flame Princess beamed, remembering her mom's gentle features and warm eyes.

"Really? Huh, I guess it's obvious why FP's so gorgeous then."

Finn was a little red, realizing his joke had gone a bit too personal. His lady however, smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek. Solara giggled. The human brushed off his embarrassment and looked behind them. He was surprised to see Ferrum, whose posture suggested he was internally conflicted. Remembering that the fiery precursor had known him longer than anyone, he turned to the white entity.

"Solara, could you by chance, tell us why Ferrum always seems so…distressed?"

The ancestral being sighed, dropping her smile and looking back at the gloomy alchemist.

"He's been through a lot Finn, emotions and doubts that most people wouldn't keep around. He's not exactly stubborn but he refuses to let go of his mistakes."

The hero gazed sadly at his fiery friend. The young blacksmith was clutching something in his hand, close to his neck. Solara continued her story, speaking to the couple next to her.

"Years ago, a little after the two of you lovebirds met, he was more or less the same man he is today. But one great difference sets him apart now: fear of his lack of self-control."

FP gasped, remembering back when she rampaged through the Goblin Kingdom that fateful night. She also thought of herself destroying the Ice Kingdom. It made her sad to think Finn was responsible, for the most part, both times she had lost herself to her powers. However, it only reminded her how much the young man had worked to rectify his errors, which she fully believed he had accomplished, evidenced by how happy she was to have him by her side.

"Ferrum was involved in an accident, triggered by his unstable emotions, resulting in not only the deaths of several gangsters but the destruction of a good portion of the Fire Kingdom's marketplace."

The couple was shocked, unable to picture their gentle and friendly companion as a violent individual. Solara looked to the ground in front of her as she climbed step after step.

"His actions scarred his self-esteem, as well as his heart. The woman he loved was so frightened at his rage that he never saw her again."

As the tragic tale concluded, both teens had a look of solace on their faces, feeling pity for the alchemist.

"Looking back, I wish I could've done something to help."

"Why didn't you?"

The three stopped walking and turned to see Ferrum staring at the precursor with a look of pleading. The shining woman just closed her eyes sadly.

"You reacted to the presence of Finn and Flame Princess, desperately trying to show them they were meant to be. Are you saying that Flara wasn't the girl I should've fallen in love with?"

The man's tone was growing angry. The teenagers were astonished at his behavior. Before Solara could answer, a hand was upon her shoulder. Sentin stood next to her, having allowed Index to take up the lead to the room.

"The Ancestral Flame only reacts to hearts that are in complete harmony. It doesn't matter if the two don't, or won't, admit their own feelings, the fires within a person's heart cannot lie to Solara."

He looked to Finn and FP.

"You two have always known there was something between you, whether as a couple or as friends. She gave you the final bit of courage to admit your need to unite with each other."

The engaged teens gazed into each other's eyes, a thoughtful look upon both their faces. Sentin turned back to Ferrum.

"Think hard, were you and the girl you fell for truly connected?"

The alchemist took a step back, his eyes trembling at the question. Amazingly, he began to tear up, astonishing Finn and Flame Princess. The blacksmith lowered his head. He remained there for several minutes while the onlookers anxiously awaited a response. Finally, the fire elemental looked back to his friends.

"Maybe getting there, but no, we had great differences."

Dragging himself along, the alchemist passed by the four on the stairs. Before he got far though, Solara grabbed his arm and pulled him into an embrace. The man was shocked, but listened as the precursor began to speak, her voice breaking.

"Ferrum, just look at what Finn and Flame Princess made it through. Confusion, betrayal, and nature itself. Now here they stand, together at last, having overcome differences that no other beings would hope to stand against."

The woman held the blacksmith out with her hands on his shoulders, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Never give up on the one you love Ferrum. No being in the multiverse, not me, not the Cosmic Owl, no one, has the right to say that two should not be together. One day, you'll find Flara again, and I'll be waiting for the time that my heart will sense the intimate bond that the two of you had begun to forge."

She now held his hands.

"Please my son, promise me that you won't be deterred from the path you chose."

The alchemist stared wide eyed at the ancestral force, unable to formulate a reply. Eventually though, he snapped out of his trance and closed his vision to dwell on her words. A moment later, he gazed back at her once more and nodded.

"I promise."

Solara smiled with joy, bringing him in for one last hug, which he returned.

"Thank you, for giving me hope," the young blacksmith whispered.

* * *

They assembly of beings finally reached the central room of the temple, leading to a vast array of 'ooos' and 'aahs'. The three precursors moved to the vibrant blue orb in the core of the area, standing by the object as they turned to face the group of friends. Index raised his arms.

"Welcome, to the Citadel of Truth, the multiverse's greatest source of knowledge of those who came before, and a beacon of hope for those pleading for a brighter future."

The robot motioned to the floating orb. The artifact hung in the air, undisturbed by the many eyes that watched it. Index hovered forward, stopping before Finn.

"I suppose, I should start from where I left off?"

The human looked to his fiancée, and then gazed back to the keeper, nodding. Index returned the gesture and faced the orb. Using his arms as telekinetic controls, he expanded the sphere to encompass the entire room, surrounding everyone with a holographic archive.

"Our universe exists as a cycle between creation and destruction. Long ago, a measure of time incalculable by any existing entity, the very first universe was violently born into existence."

A massive explosion was projected in stunning 3-D. All sights were trained on the display.

"Within seconds, matter, space, and time were cast into an infinite void, unleashing unspeakable energies into the far reaches of darkness."

The hologram began depicting countless galaxies.

"The realm of existence diligently expanded, creating vibrant intelligent entities and beings that occupied the boundless space. For unfathomable lengths of time, life and knowledge blossomed in the growing multiverse."

A darker tone struck the images.

"Unfortunately, after such extensive evolution, the earliest species discovered a terrible fate. The multiverse would continue to expand until the very fabric of space-time was stretched to its limit, pulling apart existence until only a vast field of raw particles and matter would litter the void."

A model of the phenomenon described was projected, shocking the viewers.

"In order to prevent this cataclysmic event, the original deities of the universe forged two limitlessly powerful locks, one at each corner of the universe."

Two all too well known symbols appeared in front of the group.

"Infinity and Eternity. Few laws are universal to each cycle. But one that remains is the declaration that something that is boundless cannot be overtaken, it can only be matched by a force that is endless."

The two glowing symbols floated toward the edges of the universal model.

"With Infinity and Eternity, the multiverse was given a new light. At a certain point between each cycle, the two locks will resonate, reversing the flow of time-space and forcing all matter and energy back into a single mass of existence."

This was demonstrated by the hologram.

"And so, a new universe is born, complete with new physics, new dimensions, and new life."

Index motioned to himself and his companions.

"We are precursors, beings who have somehow avoided the grasp of the universal reset, continuing to exist for some higher purpose. The Citadel too, is a precursor, a vast library of archives collected across time and space."

The robot lowered his voice.

"It is also, a failsafe. As one could imagine, various entities have discovered the great locks of the multiverse and attempted to remove or dominate the godly bonds. To prevent such devastation, the Citadel was created somewhere along the continuum to house the map to Infinity, an inter-dimensional chart that would guide trusted beings to the legendary power source, the intent being to use the might of the lock to counterbalance any destruction unleashed by those who would steal Eternity."

Index's tone had turned somber.

"It has remained so for as long as we have resided within these walls. And it will now be put to the test."

Finn took a step forward.

"Alright, you've explained how we got here. Now tell us what we're up against."

The archivist nodded and turned to Sentin, who stepped forward to continue.

"The being you encountered outside was Astrum, a precursor from a fairly recent cycle. We've dealt with him before, his race were fanatics, their ultimate goal being the dissipation of the universe. He will stop at nothing to dislodge Eternity from its corner of the multiverse and use its limitless power to tear reality apart."

Princess Bubblegum stepped forward, examining the hologram before her. Astrum was shown assaulting various planets, searching.

"What exactly is he looking for?"

Sentin glared at the projected image of the dark being.

"There is only one method in existence by which to reach either Infinity or Eternity. For the former, it is the map contained in this room. For the latter, it is a far more sinister and unintended method."

Everyone grew a worried face.

"And what exactly is that?" Marceline asked.

Index held up an arm and the holograms slid aside, now displaying a single dimension.

"By gathering the divine will of a dimension's deities. Every dimension's omnipotent beings, and some outside of them, have a universal influence on the realm they govern. If that influence is removed, Astrum will be able to manually take control of the dimension's time-space nexus using his powers."

Solara stepped forward.

"By doing this, he will create a trans-universal wormhole that can direct him straight to Eternity."

The images depicted this event, showing the destruction of the multiverse. The group was shocked. Jake now spoke up.

"Wait, so you're saying that if this guy messes with all the head honchos that we're all dead?"

The three precursor's nodded.

"But I still don't get something. How is he accomplishing this task?" PB asked.

Index raised an arm once again and the holograms displayed several fragments of unknown substance.

"Astrum has already revealed that he is hunting down the greatest sources of malice in your world. So far, he had collected two Shards of Evil, one from the fallen Flame King and another from the Lich. By infusing these shards into a deity, he will corrupt their consciousness and their divine will will be scattered."

FP tightened her hands into fists, one of which was still being held by Finn, who winced a bit.

"So, he was the one who set the crystal dragon upon my kingdom?"

Sentin looked at the young queen solemnly.

"I'm afraid so."

Flame Princess's fires grew as her anger peaked.

"I'm gonna incinerate that son of a bleeblop!"

PB and Finn both placed a hand on the girl's shoulders.

"FP calm down, you'll get your chance later."

The elemental managed to calm herself, crossing her arms and holding a dark glare. Meanwhile, Jake held up his hand, counting out with his fingers.

"So, we've got Cosmic Owl, Death, Prismo I guess, and Glob. That's four guys this jerk's got to corrupt. Oh man, he's already halfway there with his gathering!"

The dog sighed.

"I sure hope my almighty bro-ham is alright."

Finn went over to his best friend and gave him a pat on the back along with a smile.

"Don't worry man, I'm sure he got out alright."

The loyal canine managed a smile back and then everyone turned back to the precursors. Marceline floated over to Solara.

"So, are you really like billions of years old?"

The ancestral entity chuckled but nodded.

"Indeed my girl. Quite a bit more than yourself no?"

The vampire grinned, amused by the humor of a being so much more ancient than herself. Index rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you wouldn't believe it by her immaturity but Solara is from the very first cycle of the universe. In fact, it was her fire with which the multiverse locks were forged. She is by all means, the oldest being in known existence."

Everyone was astonished at this fact. Solara giggled from the reaction, clearly having experienced it before. However, Ice King walked forward and glared at Index.

"What the heck man? You never call a girl old! That puts off a bad vibe! I mean look at Princess Bubblegum. She's like a hundred and I would never say it to her face."

The candy monarch scowled at the ice wizard as he slapped his hands over his mouth, realizing his mistake and backing away. Marcy held back a laugh, much to Peeble's irritation. Finn sighed at the crazy old man's antics then turned back to the precursors.

"Now what do we do?"

Index shrank down the holo map, reducing it to about a third of its size. The image now showed a map of Ooo.

"We must anticipate where Astrum will strike next. The next Shard of Evil will be retrieved from another great evil. What beings of chaos and discord still dwell within reach of your world?"

The gathered inhabitants of Ooo all looked to the ground in thought, some holding their chins. Progressively, each of them had an epiphany and turned to look at the Vampire Queen. It took a moment, but Marcy discovered the numerous stares directed at her and raised an eyebrow. Suddenly though, her eyes went wide and she held a hand to her face.

"Dad…"

* * *

Sentin restored his cloak from thin air, this time leaving his hood down, and placed his staff gently against the wall. Reaching up, the guardian removed a large panel from within one of the golden columns of the Citadel's main room. Inside was a brilliant screen of blue energy, resonating around a central core in the shape of infinity. He took the screen and walked it over to the hovering orb.

Carefully, the precursor slid the panel into the object, which accepted it like a computer would with a CD. The orb intensified its glow, flashing a blue as bright as FP's hair when enhanced by the Ancestral Flame. Finn watched the artifact's reactions as Sentin held his hands up to the orb and began manipulating the energy screen within it, several of his tattoos glowing as he went.

The bands of power came apart like strings, unraveling themselves as if made of a magical thread. The guardian looked over and nodded to Finn, who walked up to the orb and held up his ruined demon blood sword. He slid the weapon into the sphere's influence, where it gently floated into the center as if suspended in water. While the crumbling crimson blade settled into its new position, Sentin resumed manipulating the energy bands within the orb, twisting and wrapping them around the antique sword.

The young man watched with wide eyes as the blade was illuminated with a blue hue, then unleashed bright light from within its many cracks and splinters. Before long, the damages were filled in with the energy's power, leaving an elegant cobalt finish to the weapon's surface. As the final part of the process, the ancient cross in the blade's guard began to morph, slowly shifting its shape into an infinity symbol.

Finn looked on in amazement as his prized sword was fully repaired before his eyes. Sentin released his hold on the energy binds, which allowed the now restored blade to float down toward the ground and have the human grab it out of the sphere's boundaries.

Sentin removed the screen after laying the strings back into the panel and handed it off to Index, who telekinetically moved the object back into its slot. The guardian then walked over to Finn, who was studying and practicing with his newly refurbished sword.

"Hot Daniel! This thing is incredible, it feels the same weight but the strikes feel more powerful, like I could slice a mountain in half."

He swung the blade around more as Jake, Marcy, and Ferrum walked up to watch the young man's test run. FP was talking to Solara while Ice King was interfering in a conversation between PB and Index.

"How's it handle buddy?" the hero's brother asked with a grin.

Finn gave an excited smile to his friends.

"It's flippin' awesome!"

With that, he took another mighty swing in thin air, only this time, a powerful wave of energy erupted from its edge, sending a strong force at a nearby column, which shattered upon impact. Instead of falling to the ground however, the debris simply floated in midair, uninfluenced by gravity.

Everyone gasped at the event. Index got over it first and grew an angry look on his pixelated face.

"Agh! What are you doing human!"

Finn attempted to find the right words but Sentin placed his arm in front of him. The man looked to his robotic companion.

"No Index, it was my fault, I neglected to tell Finn about the 'additions'."

The group turned to stare at the guardian. Index groaned and hovered to the ruined column. With a swing of his wrist, the suspended action reversed, restoring the pillar to its original glory. Sentin rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry about that. Finn, your sword has been infused with space-time energy. It not only grants a limited amount of reality warping during combat but it will also be to greater effect against Astrum's four dimensional body, which normal weapons would have trouble with damaging."

He looked to Marcy and PB.

"Marceline, your axe bass creates a multitude of vibrations within its own structure, so it can react with and cause significant harm to Astrum and deflect many of his matter-based abilities. Princess Bubblegum, it seems that cannon fires blasts of photon energy if I'm not mistaken."

The pink woman nodded.

"I figured that the reason the weapon could hurt him was because of his extra dimension, the shadow that covers his body makes him very vulnerable to light."

Sentin nodded with a smile, impressed by the princess's diagnostic. He then turned to the yellow dog.

"Jake, you may not have any particular weapon to fight against Astrum but your sheer brute force seems to get the job done."

The canine smiled proudly and stretched his hands into massive fists.

"Oh yeah! Good old fashioned punches."

The guardian laid his eyes upon FP and Ferrum.

"As you witnessed outside, flames are extremely effective against the precursor's powers. Fire is heralded as the original creating force in the multiverse, few energies are able to slip past its might. In that regard, the two of you should be fine with your flame powers."

The fire elementals nodded. Finn pointed questioningly over to Ice King, who was messing with an artifact set in the wall nearby. Index snatched the object away and scolded him. The ice wizard grunted but decided to join the rest of the group. Sentin understood the question.

"Simon should be fine. After all, a precursor rests on top of his head."

The whole room stared at the Ice King, who noticed the attention and started sweating, nervously touching his fingers together.

"What, what's going on? Is there something on my face? Oh Gob do I have a zit!?"

The old man began frantically feeling his face.

"I can't have acne man, princesses don't dig a guy with bad skin!"

Finn rolled his eyes.

"IK, your skin is blue and wrinkly, I really don't think girls are gonna be anymore turned off if you have a pimple."

Everyone giggled, which made the crazed ruler glare at them.

"Hey this is serious! If the world is ending I've gotta be married first so I can spend the time in Glob World with my special lady."

Finn slid his infinity sword into his pack, giving a determined grin.

"Not going to happen. We're going to beat this jerk into the ground hardcore. Just like we did with the Lich. So, what's the plan?"

Marceline slung her bass over her shoulder.

"I should head to the nightosphere and make sure dad's ok. Anyone care to join?"

For a moment the group stared uneasily at the ground, but then PB stepped forward.

"I'll go Marcy. You'll need someone who can monitor for spacial activity, in case Astrum shows his face."

The Vampire Queen gave a mischievous grin.

"Wow Bonnie. You sure your gum won't just melt to the ground? Or maybe being scared to death would have the same effect, haha!"

The candy ruler rolled her eyes. Index hovered into the mass of friends and aimed an arm at each one of them. A moment later, he fired a strange beam at them. The laser didn't do any harm, but left behind an overlapping symbol of Infinity and Eternity on each of their bodies. The group examined the new feature with curiosity. The archivist soon explained.

"We don't want to have you all go through the trouble of the three Gates again, so these insignias will allow you to be instantly transported to the Citadel."

Jake shuddered a bit.

"Oh man, those things were awful. My immature self was crazy, and I never want to face another stolen sandwich again."

The dog was leaking a few tears before Finn went over to comfort him. Sentin faced the crowd.

"The rest of you probably have other things to do. Index and I will continue to monitor the multiverse from here. Should anything come up, we'll signal you through your insignias."

The group nodded. Jake, who had recovered from the dreaded memories of the Gate of Repression, grew a silly grin on his face, looking at his human bro. Finn backed away a bit with a nervous expression.

"Jake, what are you thinking?"

The dog put one hand on his hip and used his other to point to the young man's finger, where the golden ring rested.

"I think you know **exactly **what we have to do when we get home bro. Or should I say, future Flame King?"

Finn and Flame Princess immediately covered their hands and grew a deep red as all eyes were trained on them. Both were beyond nervous as Jake began to laugh and Marceline and PB gave an 'aaww'. Ferrum gave a thumbs up and a smirk. Index and Sentin grinned as well. Solara (although she had known all along) gave a heartfelt smile to the couple, overjoyed at their foretold union. Ice King however, had a sad expression on his face and hung his head, giving a sigh.

"Aw, even Finn's getting hitched? And he's only 17! Why can't I just find a lady?"

Solara walked up to the ice wizard and placed a hand on his shoulder, a warm smile on her features.

"Don't be so hopeless. No matter how frozen your heart is there will always be a fire burning within it. I'm sure you'll find the right woman someday."

Ice King didn't look convinced.

"I'm not so sure about that. I mean, my heart is made out of maracas!"

The old man shook himself a bit, setting off what sounded like beads rocking around inside his body. Oddly enough, it seemed to perk him up and he started laughing a bit. Solara smiled and walked over to Finn and FP, who were still frozen with embarrassment.

"If you two don't mind, I'll be coming with you."

The teenagers looked at her questioningly.

"You didn't really think I'd just leave did you?" the precursor chuckled.

With that, the ancestral entity morphed into flames and jumped within the young queen. Her elegant white dress reappeared, making Finn gaze at her further enhanced beauty. The girl smiled shyly and gave her fiancé a playful shove. Meanwhile, Jake was busy blabbering about the huge party he was planning.

"…and of course, the sandwich table. Right next to the hot dog table, and the burgers, and the ice cream. Oh wait! We'll have a whole tank of ice cream, as big as our house!"

Finn just chuckled at his friend's ranting. PB and Marceline approached him. The candy princess gave the hero a hug.

"I'm so happy for you Finn, I have to say, science and logic were wrong on this one. You just knocked nature right out of the equation."

The vampire smirked, obviously amused at the pink lady's 'braniac talk'.

"Just keep yourself in line weenie. No skipping over rungs on the tier ladder, you hear?"

She laughed as Finn's face flushed crimson again. With that, the two girls bode farewell to their friends and placed their hands against their insignias, which began to light up. A few seconds later, they dissipated into space, heading back to Ooo to prepare for their journey.

Ferrum walked up to Finn next, giving him a smack on the back.

"Right time?" he asked with a smile.

The young man rubbed his back, grinning.

"Heh, you could say that."

The human motioned for his remaining friends to gather up. With one final goodbye to Sentin and Index, they activated their insignias and began to fade from the Citadel. A moment later, their forms were dispersed into space, transporting their bodies and energy back to Ooo. Back home.

* * *

Upon returning to the good old planet earth, the friends discovered it was nighttime. The stars were twinkling and the moon shone in a beautiful crescent. Ice King bid a goodnight as he flapped his beard to fly back to the Ice Kingdom. They had landed in the Grasslands, fairly close to the tree house. Finn and Jake offered Ferrum to stay at their place instead of taking the exhausting walk back to the Fire Kingdom. He gratefully accepted.

Flame Princess, of course, was also invited. As the four strolled up to the front door, it was suddenly thrown open by a familiar face. Beemo stood in the doorway, electronic tears falling down its eyes. With lightning speed, the game computer threw itself into Finn's face, who stumbled back from the impact.

"Finn! Jake! I was so worried. You guys have been gone for days. I thought you might have died!"

The human pulled the green robot off of his head and gave it a gentle smile.

"It's ok Beemo, we're both fine. You know that Jake and I can take on anything in our way. Right buddy?"

The brothers fist-bumped.

"You got it bro-ham."

The little MO calmed down and finally returned a smile. Then it noticed the two fire elementals standing nearby. They waved to Beemo with a friendly smile. The computer knew FP and gave a return wave to the alchemist.

"Hi there Beemo, my name's Ferrum."

He held out his hand to shake as he kneeled down to the game console's height. Beemo gladly shook but made it quick once its arm started burning. Ferrum frowned.

"Oh darn, forgot about that."

The man looked to Finn.

"Mind if I borrow some tinfoil? After I get inside I can flame shield the floor."

The human nodded.

"Of course. You should probably do it to the bed too. We've got a spare room on the third floor."

The fire elemental thanked him and they proceeded into the house once a roll of silver paper was found. The house was much less the same as before they had left. The only difference was that it felt much cozier somehow, most likely due to the 'home sweet home' effect. Jake grabbed a snack from the fridge (his 'emergency sandwich') and told the gang he was going back to Lady's. He hadn't seen her in days and the dog's brother fully understood. With a swift goodnight, the yellow canine was out the door.

Ferrum flame shielded the floors and bed that had been set up for guests and gave the couple a goodnight, quickly falling asleep. Finn and Flame Princess went up to Finn's room, both of them walking over to the window to stare into the starry sky. It was a peaceful night, almost making them forget that a deranged precursor was plotting to destroy the multiverse.

Finn turned to the fiery girl and smiled at her gorgeous appearance.

"So, how do you want to do this? You want the bed?"

FP giggled a bit and took the young man's hand.

"Yeah, I want the bed…with you."

The human blushed suddenly, not expecting the invite. He barely managed a reply.

"Uh, are you sure that's ok? I mean, it's not like-"

FP put a finger to his lips, silencing his babbling protest. She smiled and moved her hand to his cheek. Leaning in, she gave him a deep kiss, melting him into the act. They held for a minute before pulling back.

"Of course dummy. After all that you still feel nervous about cuddling with me while we sleep?"

Finn rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, I guess so. I don't want to be demanding or anything."

The princess giggled again, making the young man smile. He loved that sound. Giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, he said he'd go take a shower before going to bed. The fiery girl nodded and lay down on the animal pelts of Finn's bed, waiting for the hero to return.

After a few minutes of running water, the human reentered the room drying his hair off with a towel. The golden locks were reaching down to his shoulders, making him look quite heroic as a light breeze went through the open window and blew the blonde mane around.

As he approached the bed, tossing aside the towel, he quickly though for a moment then went over to his closet, pulling out a sweat shirt to replace his usual blue. Walking back to his bed, where the fire elemental was smiling, Finn grinned and lay down next to her. As he did so, FP slid closer to him and went on her side, snuggling up to the young man and placing her arm around his chest. He responded by placing his own arm around her shoulders and bringing her even closer. The girl's heat felt pleasant and relaxing, making Finn even sleepier than he already was.

With a great yawn, the human placed his other arm under his head and stared at the ceiling. He was here again, in the exact same spot as nearly a week ago, alone and sad gazing at the wooden planks above him. Finn looked down at the fire elemental who had her head in the crook of his neck. She was already asleep. He smiled, unbelieving that his life changed so drastically for the better.

_Or at least, if we get rid of that Astrum guy._

The hero frowned for a second, remembering the possibly deadly challenges that lay ahead. These were quickly shaken off. Finn remembered an important lesson Jake had taught him: always enjoy the time with those you love, no matter the future ahead. The young man's smile returned, and he kissed his lady's forehead once more.

"Goodnight FP," he whispered.

The young queen shifted a bit, but remained asleep, with her arm still gripping the hero's upper body. Finn closed his eyes gently, focusing on the comforting heat emanating from Flame Princess. He kept on smiling as he drifted off into his dreams.

_Hm, skipped over one level, but oh well. Tier 11 is the best feeling in the world._

* * *

**_Just want to take a moment to thank everyone who's been following the story so far. I really appreciate the support._**

**_next:_**Chapter 16: Ups and Downs


	16. Chapter 16: Ups and Downs

Chapter 16: Ups and Downs

Mornings in Ooo usually brought a warm welcome to the new day, provided by the rising sun, chirping birds, and the smell of a delicious breakfast. For Finn, it was all that and more. The hero awoke to the familiar heat of Flame Princess, who was still cuddled up next to him. Smiling and looking up, he noticed his infinity sword, hanging on the hinges above the bed. Its cobalt surface gleamed in the reflected sunlight, giving it the shine of a sapphire. The human gave the weapon a determined grin.

_Next time jerk-face, you'll be sorry. For everything you've done._

Finn was confused as he let in a long breath to freshen his nostrils. His senses were filled with the obvious aroma of cooked eggs. Curious, the young man carefully removed FP's arm from his torso and laid her down in a comfortable position. After reapplying his blue t-shirt, the human sprang down the ladder towards the kitchen.

When he touched down to the correct floor, he was surprised to see the room flame shielded. Ferrum was standing at the stove, cooking the eggs that were spreading their scent across the tree fort. Beside him, Beemo was on a stool wearing his apron. The computer appeared to be instructing the fire elemental. Finn walked up and decided to make his presence known.

"Morning guys. What's cookin?"

Both of his friends turned to him in surprise but quickly formed smiles.

"Good morning Finn. I am teaching Ferrum how to make scrambled eggs. He wanted to make you and Flame Princess a nice breakfast to thank you two."

The hero raised an eyebrow.

"Thank us? For what?"

The blacksmith chuckled.

"What **can't** I thank you for? Rekindling my hope, giving me a job that actually pays well, offering me a stay. The two of you really changed my life, you know?"

Finn smiled thoughtfully. He never really thought about it. Perhaps his heroic nature simply shook it off as another good deed. The human stepped forward and held out his hand. Ferrum looked at the young man questioningly.

"Oh come on," the hero responded, rolling his eyes. "It's just a burn."

Reluctantly, the blacksmith shook Finn's hand, giving him a few blisters in the process. Adamantly, he took it all without as much as a wince.

"Glad to have you as a friend man."

The fire elemental smiled.

"Likewise."

Ferrum returned to cooking as Finn walked to the kitchen table and took his seat, staring out the window while holding up his head with his arm. A few minutes later, the fiery guest and Beemo came up with several plates of breakfast, one for each of them and an extra for when Flame Princess decided to get up. As they ate, Finn decided to add in some friendly morning conversation.

"So Ferrum, what are your plans for the day?"

The fire elemental quickly swallowed some eggs. They may have been charred black by the time they suck to his stomach but it still tasted better than the usual stale charcoal.

"Hm. Haven't really thought about it. I assume Jake wants my help setting up the party."

The human groaned.

"He was serious about that?"

The fiery man laughed.

"He's your brother Finn, you should know he never jokes about a party."

The hero surrendered to that fact and returned to his breakfast, taking a gulp of milk. Ferrum drew a somewhat devious grin on his face.

"So, there was no 'funny business' last night, was there?"

Beemo gave a frightened shout as the milk Finn was now spitting out hit him in the face. The human gave his elemental friend an astonished look, along with a bit of red in his cheeks.

"What!? No! Of course not! We're not ready for that."

He leaned back in his chair, apologizing to an irritated Beemo.

"Besides, I promised myself I would wait till after marriage."

Ferrum snickered.

"Well aren't you a good little kid."

Finn gave the man a stoic look.

"How long have you been hanging out with Marceline?"

The blacksmith formed an innocent look, holding up his hands.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

Giving up on questioning the elemental, Finn stared into his plate of eggs. A moment later, he felt his hand warm up. He quickly looked behind him to see Flame Princess trying to sneak up on him. She was disappointed when her plan was ruined. The human gave a teasing grin and held up his fingers, displaying the twin of the princess's engagement ring. The girl crossed her arms with a frown.

"No fair," she pouted, taking her seat next to her fiancé.

The other three laughed and the young man gave her a kiss on the cheek, which seemed to cheer her up.

"Good morning FP."

"Morning Finn."

The princess joined in on breakfast until finally the table was clear (except for the pile in front of Beemo, which he just threw away). The couple thanked their friends for the meal and got up to return to the upper tree house. Upon arriving, Finn went to brush and fix his messy hair while Flame Princess sat near the window in his room, gazing intently out into the grasslands.

When the human came back, he slid next to his lady and put an arm around her back. He gave her a smile, which she returned and they both looked out the glass.

"So what's this party that Jake is planning?"

Finn rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, he kinda said that he'd throw one after we were, you know."

He took FP's ringed hand in his. The fire elemental understood.

"Oh. That's nice of him. Although I was wanting to announce it to the Fire Kingdom instead of all the people of Ooo."

The hero shrugged.

"That's Jake for you, can't help but gossip."

They both chuckled. FP leaned her head onto the young man's shoulder.

"Finn, I was wondering. When were you thinking we should do the actual marriage?"

Her fiancé thought for a moment.

"Well, with everything that's been going on, I was thinking after we beat the nuts out of Astrum."

Flame Princess sighed, most likely having guessed that exact response.

"But, what if it turns into a really dangerous task? What if there's a chance we wouldn't make it? I would want us to be together before that happens."

She gave a saddened look to the human, who just smiled and ran his hand through the fiery girl's hair.

"FP, we're already together in ways that no other couple could be. The whole marriage thing is just an 'official' deal. As far as I see it, we're joined as it is, in sickness and in health."

Flame Princess's expression slowly morphed into a hopeful smile. She leaned in to kiss her man, which he returned. They allowed the passion to take over at that point, opening their mouths to allow more intimacy and emotion to flow. Eventually they both fell over onto the branch acting as their sitting space, now in a full on make out.

This was suddenly interrupted by a repeated blipping noise. Both teens held back and darted their eyes around the room, wondering what was causing the untimely sound. Finally, Finn noticed a light blinking from within his pack. Walking over, he reached in and picked out a pink crystal. Immediately, a holographic cube popped up with a familiar face inside. Princess Bubblegum smiled.

"Hey Finn, I needed to…oh…did I interrupt something?"

Both teenagers blushed as Finn stuttered.

"Uh, no, it's cool, totally cool. Wait, how are you using this thing through different dimensions?"

The pink woman waved her hand dismissively.

"No Finn, we returned to Ooo a few minutes ago. I've got something really important to tell everyone. Gather them up at your place, we'll be there in a little while."

The human acknowledged and the hologram dissipated. He turned to a waiting Flame Princess. She looked a little sad, which amused him a bit. Technically it made sense, they had never before been able to show their feelings with this much contact. She must've wanted to make up for all the lost time.

"Come on, we've gotta call up Jake and the others."

The young queen nodded and stood up to follow the hero down the ladder.

* * *

Ice King, Jake, Lady Rainicorn, Marceline, and Ferrum were patiently sitting on the couch, waiting for PB to finish setting up her presentation on her holographic prism. Finn and FP were leaning on a nearby wall, having no room left on the crowded piece of furniture. The candy monarch finished putting together a file and cleared her throat, gathering everyone's attention.

"Ok guys. For one, the nightosphere is currently secured. Marcy's father reported that everything's fine but just to make sure we convinced him to put all his um, citizens I guess you'd call them, on alert."

Everyone looked a little more relieved. She continued.

"But, while I was scanning around the dimension, I picked up on something…worrying."

The anxiousness returned to the groups' faces. A diagnostic of the nightosphere popped up on the green holo-screen.

"Finn, I'm afraid what Astrum implied was true."

The hero's eyes widened, remembering the ominous declaration the dark being had spoken.

"The Time Room…has been destroyed. Dimensional scanners picked it up and I later clarified with Index back on the Citadel."

Everyone began chattering frantically, until Marcy struck an unpleasant cord on her ax bass to quiet them all.

"This act has caused two effects. One, the time waves that Prismo's home produced have been disrupted. In a matter of weeks, the temporal stability of every dimension in the multiverse will deteriorate, resulting in countless quantum anomalies throughout those universes' space-time fabric."

PB was nervous about telling her friends the second part, already seeming the growing worry on their faces. Finn stepped forward.

"Well don't keep us waiting, lay it all down."

The pink lady sighed and continued.

"The second effect it that the Time' Room's demolition has sent out a massive wave of high frequency time waves. As the waves spread throughout the multiverse, they will accelerate the temporal matrices of each dimension."

Everyone scratched their heads. PB groaned.

"Time within each world will be shot forward significantly, in an instant."

At this version of the explanation, the group acknowledged that they understood. Jake spoke up.

"Whoa mama hang on, how much time are we talking here? Weeks? Months? Years?"

All eyes were trained on the candy monarch, eager for an answer. Princess Bubblegum sighed, looking a little distressed.

"The wave deteriorates as it travels. Dimensions closer to the destroyed Time Room will experience greater jumps than those further away. By my calculations, Ooo will be sent approximately three months and five days ahead."

Gasps were heard in the audience. After a moment of deep thought, Jake spoke again.

"Well, I guess that's not so bad. I mean the only noticeable difference will be that my kids will get another whole age slot ahead of me. Not that it matters anyway, they've already got master's degrees in quantum mechanics and junk like that."

The dog thought deeply for a moment.

"I think Jake Jr. teaches aeronautics engineering at the university. We haven't even gotten all the bugs out of rockets yet! (again.)"

PB closed her viewing prism and put it back in her purse.

"The time wave should arrive in our dimension in a few days. It's worse than you guys think though. There are many species of insects and the like that only have a life cycle of a few weeks or so. When the temporal energy hits Ooo, hundreds of ecosystems will be wiped off the face of the planet."

No one had imagined this effect. It voided the point Jake had made earlier. The princess frowned again.

"Sorry guys but I had to be blunt with you. This will cause a lot of harm. I just needed you to be prepared for it."

The group nodded understandingly. PB gave her reply.

"Alright. Marcy and I should be getting back to the nightosphere."

The Vampire Queen floated over to her counterpart as the princess pulled out a carton of bug milk. Jake suddenly jumped onto the table.

"Wait! Can't you two stay for at least till after tonight?"

The girls looked at each other for a moment. Marceline shrugged. They turned back and smiled at the dog.

"Ok Jake, I guess you really want us to go to that party."

Finn and FP were shocked. The human walked up to his brother.

"What? You organized an entire event in one night? When did you sleep?"

The yellow canine grinned.

"Sleep can wait, my bro needs a bachelor party and that's at the top of the list."

The couple was confused.

"You planned **two **parties?"

Jake shrugged.

"Well duh. Every engagement's gotta have their own separate deal for both people."

Finn shook his head.

"No I mean, now you're just bordering on impossible. You've never been able to focus that much in your life!"

The human's bro laughed.

"Haha, I know! That's why I went to the Citadel and asked the orb for the brains I needed to focus."

He poked his head.

"Plus, I can turn it off. After all, why would anyone give up being lazy and easily distracted?"

Everyone either groaned or smacked themselves in the face. Jake was a bit annoyed.

"Hey, don't judge, I've got 'desirable' skills, heehee."

Marcy floated over to the dog and looked him in the eyes.

"Seriously, stop with the jokes."

The magical canine crossed his arms.

"Why should I?"

This response was a mistake. Marceline quickly morphed her face into a hideous monster, causing the dog to jump high into the air with a squeal and cling to the lamp on the ceiling, shuddering in fear.

"Dang it Marcy, why is that always your answer to everything?"

The vampire shrugged, returning to her normal form.

"Why stop using something that's not broken?"

* * *

FP and Finn said their goodbyes as she was starting to get dragged off by PB and Marcy. The fiery girl's bachelorette party was to be hosted at the Candy Kingdom, while Finn's party was held at the tree house, whose perimeter had been decorated for the occasion. With a final kiss, the two lovers departed, giving a sad wave as FP's group disappeared over a hill. The human let out a sad sigh. His bro walked over and placed a stretched arm around the young man's shoulders.

"Dude, relax, you've got your whole life to be with her. This is a special night, your last night to fully hang with all your bros without having to plead with your wife to let you go instead of being forced to watch rainicorn soap operas while eating a romantic sushi dinner."

Finn turned to the dog with a confused look. The yellow canine froze then laughed nervously.

"Heh, forget I said that. But seriously, enjoy this night Finn. It's the night of manly activity and roughhousing delight. We'll drink tons of sodas, break furniture, fight each other, beat up any crazy monsters that get attracted by all the noise, and then, compete for the ultimate prize, arranged by yours truly."

Jake motioned to the tree fort. Finn looked over, only to be shocked by the sight. The gumball guardians of the Candy Kingdom were setting down a massive tank of unknown substance right next to the house. After placing the object fully to the ground, the two towering candy robots gave a thumbs up to Jake and turned to walk back to their home. Finn and his buddy strode up to the tank, gazing in awe.

"200 tons of pure refrigerated goodness, available in a mix of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry."

Jake proudly placed his hands in his hips. His bro just gaped in astonishment.

"Dude, how did you get this?"

The human's companion just chuckled.

"Let's just say I pulled a few strings, called in some favors, and bribed…I mean, persuaded, a few higher ups to put it together."

Finn finally took his eyes off the colossal container of ice cream and swept his sight around the party area. The sun had just set and lights were flickering in vibrant disco colors, driving the dance floor. Party Pat was there, proving further that Jake had spared no expense creating the best party in Ooo history. The eccentric bear leader was leading the gathered mass of party goers in the most incredible of dance routines, which were effectively tearing the party décor apart with their energy.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Finn nodded and the two brothers charged into the action.

* * *

FP finally threw her mind off of Finn as the candy castle's doors were flung open. What waited inside was, more or less, a concert hall. Tables of various foods lined both sides of the room while a magnificently built stage took up the rear end. Marceline quickly flew up to the head of the structure and began a chant. Within moments, several skeletons broke through the floor and took up positions on the drums, keyboard, and guitar.

The Vampire Queen struck a chord, gathering the attention of everyone in the massive crowd below. As far as the fiery young queen could tell, every princess in Ooo was present at the party. Marcy took the mic.

"Hope yall are ready to get your blood boiling, cuz tonight we're here to celebrate the hottest new couple! Back together and ready to make some vows!"

The room roared with cheering as all faces turned to Flame Princess, who was being, for the most part, pushed up to the front of the room by PB. The flaming girl was blushing intensely at this point. She had never had this much attention directed at her. She was definitely feeling the pressure. A touch of comforting heat sparked within her, giving a boost of confidence. FP smiled.

_Thanks Solara._

As Marceline began jamming out with her undead band, the dozens of princess's around the room desperately tried to get to the girl who was getting married to the one who had so many countless times saved and aided them. It was practically overwhelming. Flame Princess actually wished for a few minutes that the Citadel hadn't made her fires safe to everything; she would've been more than satisfied with just Finn.

Sighing, the young queen continued to shake hands, hug, and listen to the various princess' stories on how her fiancé had saved them through the years. It wasn't until a certain purple girl entered the scene that she really freaked out.

"Oh, my, Glob! Why didn't anyone lumping invite me! You're all hating on my gorgeous body aren't you? Thinking that if I showed my face Finn would just drop little ms. hot stuff over here."

The crowd grew uncomfortable as Lumpy Space Princess approached FP. Her expression was one of irritation. An awkward moment passed as the floating teenager glared down at the fire elemental. Then, to everyone's amazement, LPS began tearing up. Finally, she threw herself into Flame Princess.

"Oh Glob! I'm so freaking happy for you girl! You don't know how lucky you are, you're so sexy and attractive that Finn got over me and now he's getting married and all this is unfiar but still I can't help feeling how amazing you are girl oh glob oh glob oh glob..."

At this point, LSP began breaking down into sobs and gibberish. The room slowly returned to its normal state of excitement as Marcy's music began to pick up speed and strength. True, the party was getting real, but all Flame Princess wanted was to get back to Finn.

* * *

The young man was struggling to push back the large grass ogre he was tangling with. Surrounding the two fighters was a crowd of soda-drunk party goers, all whooping and cheering for the combatant they bet on. Finn grinned as he felt an opening. Reacting quickly, he flipped his opponent on his back, pinning him to the ground. Donny squirmed under the hold, but eventually gave in.

"Man Finn, why do you have to be such a jerk and beat me? Couldn't you just let me win once?"

The human got to his feet, breathing heavily.

"Sorry Donny, but this is **my** party. And I say we give it our all. Everything goes, even fighting dirty."

The ogre suddenly smiled. Before Finn could move, he was kicked in the shin hard by the jerky creature, who got back to his feet as well. A quick body slam left the hero underneath the massive creature. At first, the group around them grew disappointment, unbelieving that the great hero of Ooo was beaten. This all changed when Donny's body was lifted high into the air. The grass ogre began waving his limbs desperately.

"H-hey, put me down man, I'm scared of heights!"

From below the creature's stomach, Finn gave a grin.

"Do you give?"

Donny almost started crying.

"Yes, yes, I give!"

The human let his opponent down, who began whining like he always did.

"Jeez, you had to get all serious with it, you jerk."

Finn just laughed and walked away, giving a few high fives to those who'd made a killing on his fight. Jake was over at the other side of the tree house, finishing his fight against Mannish Man. The minotaur had tied the dog into multiple knots, making it very difficult for the magical canine to recover. Struggling, Jake was unable to escape the next blow his opponent dealt, giving him a shot to the stomach.

"Ow! Hey man, what the junk I just ate like fifteen sandwiches!"

Mannish laughed.

"Come on Jake, you can't worry about eating while you're in battle. It'll distract you."

Jake grunted and suddenly shrank down, making it near impossible for the beastly man to find his target. The microscopic dog then ran unseen between his rival's legs. A second later, he stretched himself into a large boot and kicked the minotaur in the crotch. Groaning, Mannish fell to the group with his hands over his boing-loins.

Jake triumphantly returned to his normal size. The beast man gave him a very difficult thumbs up.

"Ok, I'll admit, I was way too open for that."

The surrounding spectators cheered as Finn approached his bro.

"Nice one Jake, I guess it was a good idea to have no restrictions for this. Looks like we're the last two left."

The dog gave his companion a devious smile.

"You're right Finn. Only question now is…do you really want that ice cream as badly as I do?"

Finn returned his next opponent's determined stare.

"Let's find out, shall we?"

* * *

FP stood out on the balcony, looking at the starry sky above. Marceline was still playing on stage as several princesses had grabbed mics to perform karaoke. A moment later, Peebles walked out to join the fiery ruler, leaning the same as her on the edge of the perch.

"Not having fun Flame Princess?" she asked gently.

The girl sighed then turned to the gummy woman.

"I was. I really had fun singing, you know, once I got past the nervous part. But then it sort of just died down for me. I just, I want to be back, with Finn."

She rested her head on her crossed arms. PB's expression changed to a frown. She placed a hand on the elemental's shoulder.

"If you really want to FP, you can leave."

The young queen looked to the pink lady.

"No, you guys put so much effort into all this, I couldn't just get up and leave."

"Don't be such a weenie, someone in the relationship has to have a little backbone."

Marceline had snuck up behind the two, startling them. Bubblegum narrowed her eyes at the floating girl, who just giggled a bit and floated next to Flame Princess."

"Go on, fly to him. Nothing's stopping you, all the guests met you, we had fun, just do what you want as this thing starts to die down."

FP smiled. Both of the older girls gave her an encouraging smile.

"Thanks you guys, you're the best."

She gave both a hug around their necks then turned around to shoot herself into the air. As her form disappeared into the sky, Marceline laughed again. PB looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"what's so funny?"

The Vampire Queen gave a mischievous grin.

"I remember when you were her age, chasing after boys every so often."

The candy monarch scowled.

"Shut up."

* * *

Both brothers had their hands on their knees, panting heavily, about to fall flat on their backs. They were staring into each other's blackened eyes. Bruises and a few cuts were spread across their bodies. Jake took an arm and attempted to stretch it to punch Finn. However, the boy countered with his own punch. Unfortunately, the two fists hit both their targets simultaneously, causing both guys to tilt backwards.

Before their spines hit the dirt, Ferrum quickly placed his hand to the ground and connected his reach to the ground where the brothers were fighting. As a loud thump filled the air, the massive crowd gave another cheer. The fire elemental stood up and cleared his throat.

"Dead tie, both hit at the same time!"

One final hooray was blasted into the air as Finn and Jake regained consciousness, crawling over and fist bumping.

"Dude…that was…mathematical."

"I….I know man."

"So what do we do about the ice cream?"

"Your party dude…you decide."

Finn thought for a moment then held his fist in the air.

"All you guys, help yourselves!"

A stampede formed as everyone charged at the tank of sugary dairy product. Cheers filled the air as countless people climbed the sides of the container and dove into the confection. Finn and Jake helped each other up. The yellow dog gazed at the massive metal jug before them. His buddy smiled.

"Go ahead man, you enjoy too."

Immediately perking up, the magical dog stretched himself 40 feet tall and lumbered over to the now apparent 'pool party' of ice cream. Finn shook his head smiling.

_I'm gonna miss these kinds of nights._

His mind drifted.

_But not as much as I miss Flame Princess. Right now._

The young man suddenly felt a rise in heat. Looking down, his ring had begun to glow faintly. His lady was coming to him. Looking back at the party goers, Finn decided they were all happy and busy. He quickly made a dash for the direction of the Candy Kingdom, hoping to meet his love halfway.

* * *

Flame Princes felt the warmth of her ring increase at an accelerated rate. Finn was on the move, toward her. She spotted the tree house in the distance, then looked to the forest separating it from the Candy Kingdom. For a brief moment, she saw a small figure run straight into the woods. Knowing who it was, FP lowered herself into the forest as well and began running.

Both teens could now tell they were near each other. Their hearts were resonating with each step closer, beating in sync with the other. As a clearing came into view, the two soul mates finally caught sight of each other. They raised their speed, not caring if the impact between them was painful, the mere thought of contact was enough to drive them without hesitation. In seconds, two pairs of arms crossed, quickly embracing the back of the other's owner.

FP was lifted into the air, twirled around, and then set down onto the small patch of flowers that had been beneath her feet. As Finn lay next to her, the two brought their faces to each other, feeling the sweet heat of their combined breath.

"I couldn't stay away."

"Neither could I."

With that, the couple joined their lips. FP wrapped her arms around Finn's neck as he did the same with her waist. The fiery girl's flames exploded out, sadly incinerating the flowers. On the other hand, the soft ashes left behind produced a pleasant aroma, as well as a comfy space to roll around in. Eventually, their make out began to intensify, causing them both to squirm all over the dirt.

It didn't matter to either of them where they were, as long as they could hold each other in their arms. Every so often, they would separate their bond to state their love, only to reinforce the statement with another passionate kiss. The world seemed to melt away, leaving them to enjoy this quiet, peaceful moment in the woods, not a sound for miles and not a disruption in sight.

Finn could swear his whole body temperature was climbing. His heart especially felt warm. He took a moment in between shooting further into FP's mouth to place his hand on his chest. He felt no unusual heat. In an instant, a pulse shot through the young man's body, filling his veins with a dreadfully familiar feeling.

_No…_

* * *

Jake and Ferrum walked over another hill, approaching the forest where Finn had run off to.

"You sure this is the right way?" the blacksmith asked.

Jake felt his nose.

"Of course man, this thing is always on the up and up."

Shrugging, Ferrum looked ahead to the woods. He could see a faint glow emanating from in between the trees. He sighed.

"I guess they just couldn't stay away. Oh well. Come on Jake, we shouldn't interrupt them."

The dog nodded in agreement and the two turned to return to the party. Suddenly though, a flash was seen from within Jake's side. He quickly un-stretched his secret pocket and pulled out a pink crystal.

"Huh, I wonder why PB is calling."

Turning on the hologram produced a worried looking Princess Bubblegum.

"Jake! Get to Finn and Flame Princess, now!"

The yellow dog and alchemist glued their eyes to the image.

"What, why!?"

PB's projection just shook her head.

"No time, just go! Get the away from each other!"

Jake stretched fifty feet tall and stomped through the forest while Ferrum staying hot on his tail below. Reaching a clearing, the two were shocked at what they saw.

Between Finn and Flame Princess, Solara stood defiantly, glaring at the young man. The human looked back with anger in his eyes. Neither of the new arrivals could even guess what was happening. Finn stepped forward.

"Get away from my girl Solara, she's mine!"

The precursor shot flames in front of the hero to make him back off.

"No Finn, there's something wrong with you. You have to stay back."

The human growled and ran at the ancestral entity. She attempted to shoot more fire, but this time Finn managed to dodge the blast and sidestepped around her. FP was still lying down on the ashes, but now had a frightened look upon her face, especially when the hero was closing in on her. Astonishingly, she fired her own flames at him, catching the young man off guard and throwing him aside. The fire elemental was crying.

"Finn, what happened? Why did you try that? What's gotten into you?"

The human just got to his feet and tried approaching the princess again, who raised her arms in self-defense, armed with more fire. Before she had to use them however, an enlarged yellow hand grabbed the human, trapping him. Finn did all he could to escape, including biting his brother's hand. Jake winced a bit but held on. A few moments later, a large bird approached the scene. It was the Marrow. On its back was the concerned candy princess. She was followed by Marceline.

"Jake! Knock him out!" PB yelled from the air.

Not hesitating due to the situation, the magical dog grew his second fist and leveled Finn right in the face. The young man's struggling ended and his body went limp. Marrow landed and Bubblegum jumped off, first heading to Flame Princess.

"Are you alright FP?" she asked as she helped the young queen up.

The fiery girl nodded.

"I'm fine. What happened to Finn?"

Solara walked up to the two princesses, a hard look on her face.

"Finn's heart…is infected."

* * *

It was difficult, but the hero of Ooo managed to open his eyes. Doing so hurt greatly, as did attempting to move any other part of his face. Groaning, Finn tried to orient himself. After a minute, he discovered he was in a hospital. The candy hospital.

_How did I get here? What happened…_

He remembered the strong emotion between himself and FP, then his burning heart, then the feeling of lost control. That was all he could recollect.

_Oh Grob, no way, it couldn't have…_

Before Finn could contemplate further, he found several forms above him. A little focus revealed them to be his friends, all with faces of concern painted on. The human stared at them one at a time before speaking.

"What, what happened? Why is everyone staring?"

PB laid a hand on Finn's arm.

"Finn, something terrible has you. It's buried in your heart."

The hero attempted to sit up but with no luck. Jake, who was to his left, helped him out. Readjusted, the young man now saw that one person was missing. Flame Princess. After another moment of focusing, he found her against the far side of the room, her face contorted with fear.

"Why, why is FP…afraid?"

Everyone closed their eyes, a pained look upon their faces. PB spoke again.

"Finn, you, tried to…I don't know exactly but it wasn't something you'd do on your own will. Solara sensed something inside you. She was fast enough to get you away from Flame Princess before you completely lost control of your body and mind."

The hero held a hand to his heart. For now, it was normal.

"It's my fault."

Everyone looked to Ferrum, who had his face in his hand.

"What do you mean?" FP asked, moving a little closer for the response.

The alchemist looked up at his queen, an ashamed look in his eyes.

"I should have told you in the beginning. That transmutation I used to bring back Finn. I had told you it was forbidden."

All eyes and ears were now trained on the fire elemental.

"The reason is that more times than not, the essence of the one absorbed is imbedded in the heart of the one revived."

Finn stared wide eyed at his friend.

"Are you saying that…"

He wouldn't dare answer himself. Ferrum looked to the human.

"Whatever evil remained in Flame King…was absorbed into your body."

All in the room gasped. FP held her hands over her mouth.

"This whole time, it's been feeding off of your strongest emotions: Your love of battle and your love of Flame Princess."

Two blue eyes stared helplessly at FP. The young queen was absolutely frozen in disbelief. Finn turned to the alchemist.

"Can't you take it out?"

Ferrum sadly shook his head. PB broke in.

"Nothing I have worked either. Not even Sentin or Index knew what to do."

Hope came crashing down upon the bedridden young man. He looked back to FP. The girl was leaking lava tears to the ground. The hero turned to the candy monarch.

"What happens now?"

Peebles had an extremely hard time replying, as if she knew how much suffering the answer would bring.

"I'm afraid that, until we discover how to remove the evil infection…you should not be involved in any kind of fighting or…be near Flame Princess."

Trembling with disbelief, Finn's eyes also began letting tears fall down his face. Jake was hysterical.

"What?! You can't do that! Those are the only two things Finn lives for!"

PB lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, but it has to be done, for both their own good."

Finn was deadlocked on FP's eyes, which were impossible to turn away from despite the enormous pain they held. After another moment, the princess covered her eyes as she sobbed louder and ran out the entrance to the hospital. The human watched in despair as the one he loved ran away from him.

Ferrum turned around and hung his head.

"I'm so sorry Finn."

* * *

**_I'm sorry if this chapter was a little bland (and late), I've been kinda bummed out. I may have lost one of my best reviewers due to a poor choice of words in a previous post-chapter comment._**

**_You guys might think that our creative mind is what lets us write these fics. But I personally think we're just the engine. You reviewers are the gas, the oil, and every drop and antifreeze that keeps us running. Never forget how important you are to our motivation and inspiration. _**

**_next:_**Chapter 17: Alchemist's Apprentice pt. 1


	17. Chapter 17: Alchemist's Apprentice pt1

Chapter 17: Alchemist's Apprentice pt. 1

The young alchemist gazed down at the candy streets below, watching as countless citizens returned to their homes for the night. He didn't blink, for he wasn't really thinking about what he saw. His true thoughts lie drowning in a sea of guilt.

In the hospital bed several yards away, Princess Bubblegum was pressing a stethoscope to Finn's heart, listening carefully. Once she had completed he check-up, the candy monarch placed the instrument down and held her hand to the young man's forehead. She frowned.

"Finn, are you sure you're feeling ok? You feel hot."

The human was lost in his own thoughts, but he managed to weakly reply.

"Yeah PB, I'm fine."

The pink woman gave a sad sigh, wishing she could understand the hero's pain. Before leaving, she moved her hand to his arm. The temperature was still bothering her.

"Even your arm is feeling hotter than it should. I'm going to the lab to try to figure this out. Goodnight Finn."

She patted the young man's shoulder and walked to the doors. Turning her head, she sighted the blacksmith.

"Ferrum, are you coming?"

The fire elemental didn't answer, but did join her at the entrance to the room. Finn had said it wasn't his fault earlier but to no effect. He thought for a moment, thinking back. He suddenly remembered what Solara had told him.

_He isn't stubborn but he has trouble letting go of his mistakes._

"Ferrum," the human began, getting his friend's attention.

The man turned to the bedridden hero, miserably.

"It wasn't a mistake."

The alchemist allowed a shocked expression crawl to his face. He took a moment to take in the statement, then turned back to leave with PB, who was holding the door open. As it shut behind them, a sudden jolt rocked the entire castle. Normally Finn would've freaked and wondered what happened, but by this time, he just sighed.

_Flame Princess…_

* * *

Another blast rocked the halls as Peebles and Ferrum made their way down to the gummy lady's work room. Several bits of stone wall rained down as repeated shocks rang throughout the corridor. Finally, the two reached a large wooden door. Solara was leaning on the wall next to it, eyes closed with a saddened expression. PB walked up to the precursor.

"You left Flame Princess?"

The angelic woman looked at the candy ruler skeptically.

"Put the power of a hundred bombs in the hands of an upset teenage girl? I do believe you want to keep your castle, your majesty, correct?"

Peebles frowned, blown away by the obvious logic. Another blast shook the floors. The candy monarch let out a breath.

"Ok. I'm gonna go see if I can calm her down."

The ancestral entity stood up from the wall.

"I shall join you."

Bubblegum nodded and reached for the door handle. It jarred a bit as yet another explosion vibrated through the building. Opening the door instantly let out an immense heat, followed by several rouge flames, which Solara dissipated, forming a path for PB to continue into the room.

The entire area was on fire, raging and burning as strongly as the force that had conjured it. It took a minute, but the two women located a fidgeting Flame Princes in one corner of the stone infrastructure. She was busy smashing a metal table into the ground, using her intense flames to stomp the object flat. Solara looked sadly at the young queen as Bubblegum made her way to her.

Reaching out, PB placed a hand on the fiery girl's shoulder. Although Finn's interference had rendered the elemental safe to contact, her current state magnified the heat, causing the gummy princess to immediately retract her appendage. FP turned angrily to the new arrival.

"What! What do you want?!"

PB recoiled, then stepped back a few feet so as to not begin melting.

"Flame Princess, destroying things won't help anything."

The fire elemental glared at her.

"Why not? Apparently this universe will stop at nothing to keep me and Finn away from each other! I'll return the favor by tearing everything in it apart with my bare hands!"

Tears formed in her eyes as she unleashed a powerful stream of flames into the wall, which was burned so hot that even the stone began to char and fall apart. Peebles covered her eyes so as to not be blinded by the glow of the fires. In an instant though, the crimson ribbons dissipated, fading into embers that revealed an entirely blackened room. Solara stood next to the candy ruler with her hand held out. Her face was serious.

"That's enough, child."

Flame Princess turned a hateful stare onto the precursor.

"Don't call me that! I am the ruler of the Fire Kingdom and I won't be insulted by an overconfident old lady!"

Astoundingly, FP attempted to fire a blast at the woman. Nothing came out of her glowing hand, confusing the girl. She returned her gaze to the entity, anger growing.

"When I said enough, I meant it."

Flame Princess's face flashed between hate and breaking into tears. She decided on both, dashing past the two women in front of her and making a break for the door. Ferrum suddenly opened it, forcing the princess to run into him. She recovered a moment later, staring at the alchemist with lava-dripped cheeks. Unexpectedly, she gave him a vicious strike to the face.

Princess Bubblegum and Solara grabbed the fiery girl and dragged her back as the blacksmith covered his face.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier!? We could've fixed it!"

FP struggled against the two but without her fire she could do nothing. Finally, the fire elemental went limp and hung her head, continuing her crying. Ferrum removed his hand, showing his magma-bleeding nose. The man was indeed hurt, but more on the inside. He turned to leave.

"I'm sorry."

The alchemist froze and turned back around. FP was staring at him again, but this time only misery was evident on her face.

"It wasn't your fault. There was nothing wrong with Finn before, no reason to worry about the consequences."

Silence filled the room for a minute. No one dared to speak. Solara and PB released their hold on the young queen and waited. A few seconds later, she began walking forward. Ferrum was nervous for a moment but it subsided as the princess walked straight past him, making her way to the stairs and out of sight to the upper floors of the castle.

The three adults stood in solace, understanding the suffering the fire elemental was going through.

* * *

Flame Princess quietly made her way to the hospital rooms, being careful not to wake anyone. Her outbursts had unfortunately caused a great deal of cracks to form in the floors, creating a creaking with each step. Reaching the massive doors to the infirmary, FP placed her hand gently against them. Her hand began to heat up slightly, the golden ring upon it glowing faintly. From within the room, she could hear someone stand up and walk to the door. A moment later, something had been placed against it, making the girl's ring grow brighter and hotter.

"Flame Princess…"

The voice was slightly muffled by the candy wood but still heard clearly. FP began to tear up again.

"Finn…"

She placed her head on the doors, letting the lava gently fall to the ground. On the other side of the material, the human frowned.

"Please don't cry."

FP sniffled, momentarily stopping her tears. Unconsciously, her hand was trying to phase itself through the object between it and the other hand that was resting upon the wood. Finn's was doing the same. Both teens silently stood leaning their heads against the doors, letting out all their anguish.

"I can't help it. Look at what the world has done to us."

Finn closed his eyes, unable to respond. He thought hard for a moment before reaching into his pocket. A moment later, an object was slid under the door and appeared at FP's feet. Curious, the princess leaned down and picked it up. She was surprised to discover it was her and Finn's kissing rock, only it appeared much thinner.

One side still had the reminder etched into it, but the other had been grinded away until it was smooth once more. Upon the surface of the stone was a wet lip mark, as if it had just been made. Flame Princess just teared up again as she placed her fiery lips to the same spot, sizzling away the saliva Finn had left behind. His voice broke through the door.

"I love you FP."

The princess slid down to the floor and leaned against the door, cradling the rock in her lap. She heard her fiancé perform the same action. They remained there, holding their backs to not only the physical barrier between them but the evil essence that dwelled within the young man's heart. For now, it had no say; they could quietly sit and feel the radiating warmth from their rings without interference from the vile force. It was the closest they could come to a loving embrace.

"I love you too Finn."

* * *

Ferrum wiped away the remaining fluid from his face as he looked into the mirror. Luckily, Flame Princess's punch hadn't done much damage, at least, to his nose. The alchemist stared sadly at his hands, forming them into fists out of frustration.

_Why couldn't I stop it? What was done with alchemy should be solved with alchemy. So where is the answer?!_

He lost it and smashed his balled hand into the glass, shattering it. A gasp was heard behind him. He turned to see Princess Bubblegum, standing in the doorway to his temporary room, holding a rolled up scroll. Ferrum's expression changed to regret as he gazed at the broken shards around him and the worried look on the princess's face.

The fire elemental reached over and took hold of a mysterious glowing orb on the table. He gripped the object and began siphoning part of the sphere's apparently large energy. A moment later, he pressed his hand to the broken mirror and let out a deep breath.

"Reverse Catalyst."

The pieces of glass glowed with an orange aura before rising off the ground and floating back into the ruined mirror. Within seconds, the reflective object had been seamlessly repaired. Ferrum placed his hands on the edge of the dresser where the glass rested upon, hanging his head.

"Sorry," he managed to say.

PB took a minute before slowly walking over to the man and placing a hand on his shoulder. She had a mitt on.

"They don't really blame you Ferrum, they're just devastated. After all the effort, it's back to square one for the time being."

The blacksmith looked back into the repaired mirror.

"If I can't cure it, how do I pay them back for my mistake?"

The candy monarch sighed.

"First of all, there is no mistake. The choice was either let Finn die or save him. You made the right decision."

Ferrum wouldn't stop staring into his own eyes.

"But at what cost?"

PB removed her hand, letting it fall back to her side. She was silent for a moment before placing the scroll on the dresser and turning to leave.

"One that we will find the answer to, that's a promise. Finn has done too much for this land to just be ripped from the girl he loves, the same goes for Flame Princess."

With that final comment, she left the room, leaving Ferrum in silence. Eventually, he looked to the scroll. It had the Fire Kingdom seal on it. Wondering what his home wanted with a failure like him, he reached over and unraveled the mail:

_Alchemist Ferrum,_

_In light of your extensive contributions to the safety of the Fire Kingdom and the continued rein of its fair queen, this court hereby repeals the restrictions on your alchemic activities. We trust you have grown to understand your actions and have taken the steps to control yourself. We look forward to seeing progress in your work._

_-High Court of the Fire Kingdom_

Ferrum didn't know what to say. His home, had forgiven him. The man rolled the message up and held it to his chest. There were no words to describe how grateful he was. In addition, a thought came to mind. He had originally offered something to Finn before he left for the Citadel. It was mostly for moral support, as the fire elemental was banned from private transmutations, but now, now he had a way to make it up to the human for his lack of clarity.

* * *

The sun acted as Finn's alarm clock, waking him from his slumped position. He had remained against the door for the whole night, taking comfort in the proximity to the girl he loved. The hero gently knocked on the candy wood.

"FP?"

No response. He tried hitting harder. This time the fiery girl's waking murmurs were heard. After a yawn filled the air, the human saw the kissing rock being slid back to his side. Picking it up, he smiled. Burned into the smooth side was a tiny heart, with **F+FP **written inside.

"Morning," came the young queen's voice.

"Morning," the hero replied.

Finn looked to the clock on the far wall then turned his head to the doors.

"It's pretty late already FP, you should go eat something."

On the other side, the girl sighed.

"But, I don't want to."

Finn kissed the stone and slid it back under the gap between the floor and the doors. After he heard a slight hiss, he responded.

"Please, I need you to keep yourself healthy until I can be there for you again."

As the symbolic rock was slid back to Finn, Flame Princess answered.

"Ok, I'll go. I love you Finn."

"And I love you FP."

The sound of her standing up gave relief to the human, who also stood and made his way to the bed. Lying down, the young man placed a hand to his heart; it was the same hand that held the stone. A light pulse shot though his body, making him grind his teeth.

"Damn. How did you get out?" he whispered to himself.

What he was not expecting was a distant answer.

_Ha! Did you really think that all that passion you experienced after your desire was fulfilled would do nothing? It was incredible! I easily broke free of the Vault, but hid, of course, waiting for the right moment to help you get what you want._

Finn scowled, baring his teeth and nearly tearing through his shirt in an attempt to choke the evil presence.

"I swear, when I find a way to you, you'll never speak again."

His voice was poisoned to the core, but the entity just cackled.

_We'll see._

No more was said. Finn lay in silence, holding the kissing rock tightly in his hand. A few minutes later however, knocks came to the door. The human looked in their direction and replied to the action.

"Come in."

Opening, the doors revealed Ferrum. Finn wanted to smile but wasn't sure if the fire elemental was still in depression. The blacksmith walked over to the hero's bed and cleared his throat.

"How are you feeling?"

The human cracked his neck a few times and sat up, swinging his legs over to the ground.

"Just fine."

The man nodded. Finn looked at him curiously.

"Was there something you wanted?"

Ferrum let out a breath.

"Finn, I figured that, since you have some time to spend without Flame Princess, perhaps you'd still like to, learn alchemy?"

The young man was shocked at first; having thought his friend wouldn't even mention it again. Eventually though, he managed to respond.

"Uh, ye-yeah, of course!"

The alchemist grew a small grin. This was enough to give Finn an explanation.

"But, you don't have to do this as a way of paying me back. You never did anything wrong. Is that clear?"

Ferrum frowned.

"I suppose, I'll learn to let it go."

Good enough for the human, Finn stood up and went over to grab his pack. Returning to his friend's side, he crossed his arms.

"So, where do we start?"

Ferrum motioned for the hero to follow him out of the hospital.

"In the Fire Kingdom wilderness."

The young man was surprised, but decided not to question it. The two walked down the stairs to the main hall, which was sparsely populated by castle servants. They walked past without any delay, pushing open the massive entrance doors. Outside, the sun was shining on all the bright colors of the Candy Kingdom. As Finn and Ferrum reached the bottom of the stairs, they spotted two familiar figures nearby.

Flame Princess and Peebles were talking with each other, sitting at a café having breakfast with tea. A moment later, the royal pair noticed the boys. The ladies stood up nervously. Finn took a cautionary step toward them. PB looked on edge, while FP was just looking with a mixture of sadness and slight happiness.

"You guys heading out?" the young queen asked.

Finn nodded.

"Yeah, we're going to the outskirts of the Fire Kingdom. Ferrum's gonna teach me some alchemy."

FP put her hands together in front of her abdomen and nodded back.

"Ok. Be careful Finn. You too Ferrum."

The boys nodded again and turned to leave.

"Finn!"

The human turned back to see FP holding her hand out to him, only to remember she shouldn't go near him. Sadly, she put her limb back down and put on a brave smile.

"I love you."

The young man returned the smile.

"I love you too."

Suddenly, an odd sensation ran through everyone's senses, the world around them began to warp and distort. The candy citizens were all frightened while the four humanoids looked around for the source of the phenomenon. A second later, Jake came running from the castle, still holding a bowl of ice cream.

"What the heck is going on guys?!"

For a minute, no one had an answer, then, PB stepped forward.

"The time lapse, it's starting."

Everyone looked at the scene with horror. The area around them began changing. The buildings somehow dulled, the candy peoples' bodies seemed to grow ever so slightly, the candy grass nearby grew twice as long, the trees became fuller, and the five friends themselves felt their skin and internal organs stretch. Finn's golden hair suddenly burst from underneath his hat, stretching halfway down his back. The most terrible change of all however, was watching every flower in sight dry up and fade away into dust. The same occurred with the various bees and flies in the area, leaving puffs of dark particles that evaporated into the air.

Princess Bubblegum ran to the nearest flower bed remains and pulled out a scanner. After a moment she looked to her friends.

"Three months, five days, as predicted."

The group lowered their heads in despair, having just lost over half of the planet's life forms to the temporal shockwave.

* * *

Finn walked in silence close behind Ferrum, having cut off his extra hair and gotten his hat back on properly. The two of them were slowly making their way up an extinct volcano. The exhilarating experience of entering the Fire Kingdom without needing a flame shield almost made up for the devastation that had befallen the dimension several hours prior. Almost.

The trek to the peak was without words, as if giving the earth a moment of silence for the loss of so many of its children. At last, the human and fire elemental reached the top and gazed at the volcanic expanse before them. The city was nowhere in sight, hidden behind several mountain peaks.

"Alright, this is perfect."

Ferrum put down his pack and began taking out several books. Finn sat down and placed his pack aside as well, watching intently. The alchemist found the right reading and looked to the young man.

"Now, are you willing to accept my method of teaching, because I won't go easy on you."

Finn stared back with determination.

"I'll do whatever it takes."

Ferrum nodded.

"Good, now…"

He tossed the book he was holding to the hero, who caught it with difficulty, surprised at its weight.

"…for the first day, I want you to read that entire book."

The human was astonished. The blacksmith held a stoic expression.

"Now, what did I just say?"

Finn was now a bit confused.

"Uh, read the entire book?"

Ferrum stood up, walked over to his friend, and smacked the back of his head, causing the young man to yell out.

"Try again. What did I say?"

Rubbing his head, Finn attempted another answer.

"Read the entire book, for the first day?"

The alchemist nodded slightly.

"Correct, now, do you know what that means?"

The hero shrugged, receiving another smack.

"Ow! Quit it!"

Ferrum pulled Finn off the ground and looked him in the eyes.

"You said you'd accept my teaching, and my methods come straight from my father and the military. This is big boy camp Finn. Man up or lay down."

The human grunted but sighed.

"Alright, I get it."

The fire elemental released his hold.

"Good. Now. It means, I want you to take the **whole day** reading that, because there's no skimming, or speed reading here, alchemy is 90% studying, 10% focus, and 0% slacking off! Do I make myself clear?"

Finn stood up straight and saluted.

"Yes sir!"

Ferrum crossed his arms and nodded to the book. The human immediately sat down and cracked open the first section: 'The Nature of Alchemy'.

_Alchemy is widely accepted as the balancing power, an equal fusion of magic and science that can be wielded by magical beings and commoners alike, as long as one possesses the proper…_

Section two was reached at the sun's peak, but Finn refused to take a lunch break. He was actually intrigued by the knowledge he was extracting. This section, 'Alchemy's History', provided all the background questions that the young man had always planned to ask Ferrum.

Speaking of which, the alchemist suddenly snatched the book from Finn's hands and held it behind his back, beginning to pace.

"Pop quiz: What determines the efficiency of a transmutation's energy flow?"

Finn searched through his mind erratically.

"The state of the caster's chi paths."

Ferrum turned and continued to pace.

"What causes a transmutation to backfire?"

"Focusing on one's mind rather than their heart."

"At what point in time was alchemy first used for warfare?"

"Third Age of the Fire Kingdom."

"How many times did the king of the Fifth Age reconstruct his own body using only his transmutations?"

"Seven."

Ferrum tossed the book back to Finn, who caught it and immediately returned to reading intently. The blacksmith hid a smile.

Section three: 'Structure of a transmutation.'

Finn was drawing in the dirt as he read. The book called for him to practice drawing a basic circle to perform a reaction that would move an object to a new location. He struggled at first, until he remembered he could understand the ancient fire runes within the structures and began swiftly sketching multiple sets of the intricate designs. After he finished, Ferrum tested them. The first dozen exploded, each one earning a disappointed head shake from the alchemist. After a while though, the reactions began to activate properly, teleporting a simple rock several feet away.

The fire elemental approved and Finn returned to his reading. It was late afternoon as he drifted into section four: 'Laws of Alchemy'. Ferrum stopped the young man at this point.

"Read the next line out loud."

The hero complied and cleared his throat.

"An alchemist's greatest responsibility is to maintain control."

Ferrum placed his finger on Finn's forehead.

"Burn that sentence into your brain."

The human nodded before taking a few minutes to memorize and repeat the law. He finally returned to reading. Sections five ('Energy Flow') and six ('The Catalysts') were studied extensively. By the time the sun had completely disappeared, Finn shut the book and collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. Ferrum walked up and leaned over the human.

"Well done with the reading. Now, if you want to be able to cook anything, make us a nice fire."

Finn reached for his pack, only to be stopped by his teacher.

"Using alchemy," the elemental grinned.

The young man's eyes grew wide, disbelieving that he was expected to perform a transmutation the very first day.

"What! That's nuts! I only read the book!"

Ferrum walked over to a large rock and sat down, crossing his arms.

"Then I suggest you start applying what you've learned."

Finn groaned, picking up his reading. Taking a deep breath, he laid the material aside and assumed a position for meditation.

_First things first: opening your chi._

Begin naturally talented at extreme focus, the young man easily unlocked his chi paths one by one, connecting all the energy flows of his body as he silently meditated. He felt more than just bonded however, he also felt less stressed. He now understood why Flame Princess did this so often.

_Ok Finn, make sure to use accuracy __**and **__speed._

The circles were still difficult for the hero to draw, he made several before settling on one he thought was acceptable. Carefully, he placed several coals in the center of the circle, not wanting to disturb the drawing. He finally set it up and took another deep breath.

_Last step, draw the energy from your heart._

Finn concentrated on his beating organ and tried to shape the pulsing energy into a form he could use. No luck. Trying again, this time he ignored the rhythmic beating and instead felt the actual heat. This method seemed to be working better, allowing him to cycle the energy up to his shoulders and down the length of his arms.

He lastly brought his open palms to the ground, focusing on the control of his internal heat.

_Maintain control, maintain control._

Confident in the state of the energy within his hands, Finn sent a pulse through his tendons, causing the built up force to shoot out of his palms. All at once, blue electricity began arcing out of his skin, lighting up the transmutation circle nearby. The young man's eyes grew.

"Whoa, I'm doing it! And mine's blue! Mathematical!"

Ferrum snapped his fingers.

"Focus! Maintain control!"

Finn snapped out of his awe and tightened his sight on the reaction. So far, no fire was forming. Determined, he pushed more energy into the ground. A few cracks appeared in the ground.

"Control!" Ferrum shouted.

A spark flew out and detonated a few feet in the air, followed by more. Finn realized the transmutation was destabilizing. He closed his eyes, frustrated.

_Dang. Why won't it work? Hm. What if…the flow is too rigid?_

He took another breath and tried to think of something freely flowing in the breeze, attempting to draw a visual and integrate it into his reaction. Naturally, the first thing he thought of was Flame Princess's crimson hair. A smile was brought to his face, as well as a friendly warmth in his heart. Picturing the beautiful locks blowing around seemed to calm not only Finn's frustration, but the reaction as well.

Ferrum leaned forward, surprised.

The transmutation's energy stabilized, the electric arcs from Finn's palms growing shorter and less erratic. The human opened his eyes and moved the new energy in his heart to replace that which was already cycling through the circle. As he did so, the blue hue of the circle turned purple.

The blacksmith was shocked.

_That's not his own energy, where did he get it from? And how is it possible? He's not a fire elemental._

The smile on Finn's face turned to one of determination. A second later, the coals within the circle burst into flames. The human let out a victorious laugh as he was careful to not let excess energy be released into the area. Slowly, he lifted his palms and tightened his fists, flowing the energy back into his chest.

_Always disperse extra energy through your stomach._

The heat reached the young man's abdomen and suddenly fizzled out as the force was pushed out of his body. The reaction ended, the purple hue vanished and a healthy fire was quietly crackling in front of him. The last thing that happened was a strange sensation in the hero's gut. He opened his mouth and let out a large burp.

"Oops, sorry, must have had some left over, haha."

Finn looked amusingly at his teacher, only to see the man staring at him. The human frowned.

"What? Was that bad in taste?"

The alchemist shook off his gaze, looking carefully at the flickering flames.

"That, shouldn't have worked."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"What? Why?"

Ferrum stood up and walked to the human, who stood up as well.

"Flame alchemy takes weeks of practice, fine tuning your energy flow, finding the correct mental wavelength, gathering even streams of energy."

The alchemist looked hard at his friend.

"We'll continue this tomorrow. Go ahead and eat then get some sleep."

He walked off, leaving a heavily confused Finn.

_My own energy, a combination of my father's red flow and my own yellow flow. He gave me it the first time I transmuted. But, where and how did Finn obtain a red flow to add to his own?_

Ferrum shook his head, unable to find a rational explanation.

_He's only human, what makes him cross the boundaries of his species?_

* * *

Finn lay on his back, waiting for his teacher to return. The hotdogs he'd cooked were now resting happily in his stomach, the fire he created adding a pleasant warmth to his body. He held up his hand and examined the palm.

_I don't get it. I transmute flames my first try? Why is that so hard? _

The constant heat was making the young man sleepy, so with a final yawn, he closed his eyes. Unknowingly, he flipped over on his chest, allowing his arm to fall directly into the flames of his fire. It was then that something incredible happened, or rather, didn't.

His skin was completely unharmed.

* * *

**_Work and homecoming. Two things that obliterated my weekend and made me late twice on updating. Sucks. _**

**_Anyway, I'd like to go ahead and recommend one of the fics I read. 'The Left Path', an awesome story from WWKC121 that I believe anyone who's a Flinn fan should check out. Why you ask?_**

**_1. It's Flinn, that's a given._**

**_2. It's a super unique plot._**

**_3. Alternate universe FTW!_**

**_(Sorry, you should know from COT I have a thing for AU's.)_**

**_So please check this fic out. Hoped you enjoyed this chapter, please review. Later_**

**_next:_ **Chapter 18: Among the People


	18. Chapter 18: Among the People

Chapter 18: Among the People

Flame Princess stared out into the night sky, imagining that Finn was gazing at the very same stars. She sighed, feeling lonely and depressed. Since her man had left he was the only thing she could think of. Somehow, a chuckle made its way into her mind. To think that at one time the human couldn't get her out of his head and now she was doing the same.

Quiet footsteps were heard behind the princess, who spun around from the balcony to see Solara and PB approaching her.

"We're not interrupting are we?" the candy ruler asked gently.

FP leaned on the edge of the viewing space behind her and looked to the ground.

"No, not really."

The two women frowned at the fiery girl's tone. It was hollow. Clearly, recent events couldn't be overcome so easily. Solara walked up to the young queen and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a warm smile.

"It's alright my dear, we'll settle this issue. No one has given up."

Flame Princess's expression just grew more painful.

"But how long could that be? Years?"

A few tears started falling from her eyes, creating small blobs of cooling lava on the floor. Solara reached up and wiped away the leak, still holding her smile. FP finally looked up at the precursor.

"I'm sorry, for earlier, I was just, so hurt and angry."

The ancestral entity lightly shook her head.

"No harm done, Flame Princess. We all understand that this is a difficult time for you."

Princess Bubblegum joined the two near the edge.

"FP, as long as you're stuck with nothing else to do maybe you should go back to the Fire Kingdom, I'm sure your citizens miss their queen."

The fire elemental thought about this for a moment then nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Plus I should make sure my cousins haven't done anything stupid."

The two women smiled with admiration at the princess's returning resolve. The girl then stood away from the balcony and began walking toward the door. She stopped suddenly when a thought struck her, guiding her attention back to PB.

"Hey PB, what was the date before the time lapse?"

The pink princess looked up in deep thought before looking back to the young queen.

"The seventh of December. Why do you ask?"

FP brought her hands to her mouth and widened her eyes.

"Finn's birthday, it's two days from now!"

All three ladies gasped a little. Solara then smirked and strode over the fiery girl.

"Well then, you'll have to find something for him now won't you?"

Flame Princess nodded. Peebles walked over as well.

"You might as well stay for the night; in the morning I'll have Peppermint Butler wake you up early, if you want."

The fire elemental smiled at the monarch.

"That'll be great, thanks PB."

Out of nowhere, she yawned, producing a giggle from the two women.

"Go on FP, get some rest. You and Solara have a big day tomorrow."

The girl nodded and said goodnight to both of her friends, who politely walked out of her temporary room and shut the door behind them quietly. FP raised her arms and swirled her flames around herself, transforming her dress into an evening gown. After setting her crown on the dresser, she got into bed and pulled up the covers.

It felt strange, she neither got a goodnight hug or kiss from Finn. He wasn't even anywhere near her, for the first time in almost a week (well, several months technically, if you count temporal disasters). In that short amount of time she had completely forgotten how it was to have no one to turn to for comfort. Now the solitude was upon her again. At least, at the moment, she wasn't dealing with stressful royal duties.

Sighing, the young queen closed her eyes and imagined that her fiancé was there beside her, perhaps on the floor since he was still a little uncomfortable with sleeping in the same bed. FP giggled at the thought. True they had taken a great leap up the ladder of tiers but in all honesty, why not? They were mature, they were in love, and they had dealt with all previous mistakes and grievances. And like Finn always said, they were never really apart in their hearts.

Feeling a happy warmth within her, Flame Princess drifted off into her dreams, hoping that her mind would grant her a pleasant vision of the one she loved to make up for the fact that he could not do so in person.

* * *

As promised, Pep But stirred the fiery princess at a fairly early time the next morning. The striped man had sent ahead a message of arrival to the Fire Kingdom and informed her that Princess Bubblegum had important matters to attend to regarding the time wave incident. After thanking the candy butler and receiving a respectful bow from him, Flame Princess watched the fellow leave down the hall to check the start-up of the castle's activities.

Turning her head to the opposite hall, FP saw Solara walking toward her. The precursor smiled and gave a good morning introduction, which the fire elemental returned. After taking a minute to get dressed, FP stepped out to the balcony. Solara shifted into her flame form and fused with the fiery girl once more, returning her elegant white dress. For a moment Flame Princess wondered why she had bothered to change her outfit if it would just be replaced but shrugged it off and shot herself into the air.

Several crews were repairing the minor damages to the candy castle from FP's outbursts. Surprisingly, they happily waved a goodbye to the flaming ruler as she flew toward the Fire Kingdom.

_You see, we understand your reactions, there's nothing to be ashamed of._

Solara's statement brought a hopeful smile to FP's face.

"Yeah, but I still wish I could've helped."

As the fiery girl flew past the grasslands, she could feel her ring begin to heat up. She assumed the Ancestral Flame's power increased her heat sense to beyond any normal fire elemental. The young queen smiled again, knowing that at least she would soon be a lot closer to Finn.

Touching down at the main gates, FP approached the guards, who bowed and immediately opened the massive doors. Stepping through, the girl found herself welcomed by the warm sight of her home, still as volcanic and lava filled as ever. Strangely enough though, the city seemed to be deserted. The closest activity she could find was a flickering light from the palace.

"Maybe there's a party going on?"

Solara let out a thoughtful sound as the fire elemental strolled over to the palace entrance. The two guards protecting it bowed respectfully.

"Your majesty, we're glad you're back, there have been some…issues."

Flame Princess frowned.

"Don't tell me everyone's turned evil again."

The guard shook his head.

"No, it's actually quite the opposite."

Confused, the princess calmly walked through the front gate and made her way down the short hallway to the throne room. Nearly the entire kingdom was crowded into the area, all of them shouting in irritation. They were all looking toward the center of the room, where there appeared to be someone hanging by their legs from a rope tied to the ceiling. Having enough of the chaos, FP raised her arms and formed two walls of white flames to make everyone back off from the hanging individual and create a path for herself to approach.

As she neared the suspended being, she let out a groan. It was Fernius, completely terrified of his predicament. The prince was desperately trying to cover his face, believing the citizens would be punching his stuff out. Flame Princess walked up to her cousin and smacked him on the back of the head.

At first, Fernius gasped and struggled, but then he saw his assailant and let his arms fall loosely to the ground. FP crossed her arms and glared at him.

"What did you do you moron?"

The hanging prince shrugged upside down.

"All I wasss sssaying wasss that maybe we ssshould eliminate the water kingdom, jussst to remove the greatessst threat to our proud land."

Flame Princess's fires grew exponentially as she leveled the helpless prince in the face, earning a yelp from the young man.

"You idiot! We just finished making peace with them! And why would they hurt us? Our kind has even helped them in the past; fire elementals are honorable and kind, not lustful for power!"

Fernius rubbed his bleeding nose.

"I know that now! Why do you think they tied me up here when I ssstated my plan?"

FP's expression softened at this comment. She lowered the fire walls and looked around at her people.

"Is this true, you all disagreed and worked to stop this fool?"

The gathered fire elementals nodded honestly. Flame Princess suddenly smiled and placed her hands over her heart.

"Wow, I'm so proud of all of you, displacing tyrannical ideals even when I'm not around. I'm honored to be your ruler."

The crowd cheered for their princess, clapping and jumping up and down to show their support. The fiery girl then turned back to her cousin.

"Alright Fernius, you're out. Get back to your chamber until I- wait, where's Torcho?"

She looked around hoping to spot the other prince with no luck. The missing elemental's brother tapped his fingers together nervously.

"Well, you sssee, he didn't quite agree with my idea ssso I kind of…locked him in a cccell."

Flame Princess smacked her face, shaking her head.

"Guards, take this dumb butt back to his room. And you," she pointed accusingly at her cousin.

"You're on probation until I can trust you again."

The prince growled but complied as the towering flame guards untied him from the rope and dragged him off to his room. FP shouted after them.

"And get someone to find Prince Torcho!"

Slowly, the citizens of the Fire Kingdom filled out of the room, often gesturing a friendly goodbye to their queen. As the last of them left and only palace servants, officials, and guards were left, the fiery princess walked over and sat on her throne. She let out a relieved breath.

"It's, strangely nice to be back here."

Solara suddenly left the young lady's body and materialized beside her, holding a smile.

"Perhaps the ruling spirit is truly within you dear."

FP grinned. A few seconds later though, Cinnamon Bun showed up carrying an enormous stack of papers. With some difficulty, he set the tower down in front of FP, who raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, Cinnamon Bun, what is this?"

The fire-shielded candy person just held his constant silly smile.

"It's the stories about husbands who got beat up by their wives after answering a 'does this make me look fat?' question."

The pastry proceeded to laugh.

"Hahaha! They're fun to read."

The fiery ruler looked uncomfortably at the stack before her. Solara had an expression of doubt. She turned to the young queen.

"You know dear, perhaps absolute truth might not be the best idea. Your people have already proven that they are good at heart. Maybe it's time to allow the little white lies to seep through? For sanctity's sake?"

The ancestral entity's wisdom couldn't be discredited; she'd probably seen this situation hundreds of times in her lifetime. FP sighed, deep in thought, then raised her hand, setting the domestic violence reports on fire with flames that were hot enough to burn the fire-resistant material.

"I guess you're right. I hate to admit it, but if Finn was forced to say I looked fat, I'd probably lose it and throw him into the lava."

Solara chuckled and laid a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Why don't you go make it official?"

The princess nodded and rose from her seat.

"CB, mind watching the throne?"

The candy person saluted.

"No problem princess."

With that, the fire elemental and precursor made their way to the stairs and up to the announcement balcony above. Once reaching the edge, Flame Princess cleared her throat.

"Attention my loyal subjects!"

All fire people in range stopped what they were doing and gathered up.

"I have seen that you have truly embraced the honorable path of truth, justice, and kindness to all. For this reason, I hereby repeal the strict code of truth upon the lands. I realize that at times it is necessary to provide false words for the sake of decency and comfort. I trust each one of you to properly use this freedom to continue our glorious existence among the other inhabitants of Ooo. That is all."

The crowds cheered again for their wonderful leader, making a smile grow on the girl's face while Solara gave an approving nod. As the people returned to their errands and jobs, FP gazed down at the commotion. The marketplace was bustling heavily today, creating a swarm of buyers and sellers trying their best for a bargain or sale.

She sighed. The precursor next to her leaned over to look the fiery young lady in the eyes.

"What's the matter dear?"

The princess continued to look at the activity below.

"I guess that sometimes, I wish I could go down there you know? Be part of the common folk and act like a normal person, without having to hide my identity under a cloak."

The ancestral entity thought for a moment, then let out a grin.

"Would you really want that?"

FP nodded, not really taking the question seriously. Solara suddenly took her hand and pulled her back into the palace. The angelic woman gave a mysterious smile.

"Well then, let's start the makeover shall we?"

Flame Princess was totally confused. Before she could dig into questioning however, the precursor shifted into her flame form and began swirling around the princess, rapidly spinning in a tightening vortex instead of fusing right into her. FP panicked a bit but could do nothing to stop the process.

Soon enough, Solara's flames bonded to her skin, feeling like a heavy jacket before a bright flash emanated and all weight disappeared. Experimentally, Flame Princess peeked out of one eye, which she had shut tightly when the fires clung to her. Nothing seemed different. She opened the other eye and looked down at herself. She was wearing a common dress, usually seen on various citizens walking around the kingdom.

FP sighed sadly.

"Thanks for the enthusiasm Solara but just because I'm wearing a normal dress doesn't make it any harder for people to know who I am."

A giggle was heard.

_Then why don't take a look at yourself._

Curious, the girl did as the entity suggested and walked to a nearby mirror hanging on the wall. As she stood before the reflective glass, she was instantly astonished to see a foreign image in view. The girl looking back at her wasn't her, but a fairly altered female fire elemental with her hair tied into a long braid behind her and facial features that were significantly different from the princess's own, yet quite attractive.

Cautiously, FP reached up with her hand and touched her cheek. The reflection did the same movements perfectly. The girl gasped. This was really her. Another laugh was heard from the precursor.

_Pretty convincing wouldn't you say?_

Flame Princess continued to look at her disguise, admiring the ancestral force's work.

"Wow. It's nice. I, I wonder what Finn would think of it."

Solara groaned within the young queen.

_Come now dear, the point of this is to keep your mind __**off **__of that young man._

FP reluctantly nodded and turned to head back down the stairs. Cinnamon Bun was still doing his job, standing vigilantly while humming to himself. The disguised princess decided to test the new look and strolled up to the candy person.

"Hi," she said timidly.

CB turned to look at the girl and gave his signature toothy grin.

"Hi."

The fiery ruler waited a moment before responding.

"Um, have we met before?"

The pastry blinked then continued his stare.

"Nope. I think I would remember a girl as pretty as you."

Flame Princess blushed with a small smile.

"Oh, you're very sweet. Well, goodbye."

She walked off waving to the loyal friend. He waved back as well.

"Bye."

* * *

Immersed within the culture of her people, FP began gazing at all the wonderful sights her city had to offer. Various shops tried to sell her trinkets and gems. Several street performers were juggling water bottles while wearing fire proof mitts. Even a few shady guys were leaning in the edges of a few alleyways.

Flame Princess never thought she'd have this much fun being a commoner. As she pressed on, she remembered another reason she was here: to find a present for Finn. Systematically, the fire elemental peeked into shop after shop of the usual things the human would like. After an hour or so however, she had a different thought. He always got weapons and what not; she needed something a little more special to give the young man.

Solara agreed with her and the two set out for a different part of the market. A few minutes later they came across a row of stands that were selling various alloy trinkets. Many were formed into incredible designs or shapes. FP got excited all over again. Like a little kid in a toy shop, she bounded from kiosk to kiosk looking for the perfect item to give Finn.

Being in such a rush at this point, the fiery girl failed to stop herself from running straight into someone, causing them both to fall to the ground with a groan. Flame Princess recovered first and looked upon the person in hopes of apologizing. The individual was another female fire elemental who looked around her early twenties. The young queen thought she looked quite nice, reminding her of her mother a bit.

FP took a step forward and offered her hand to the fallen lady, who accepted it with a smile. After pulling her up, Flame Princess helped make sure she wasn't hurt.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

The older girl just gave a sincere smile.

"Oh it's alright. I have to confess I wasn't paying attention either."

She patted down her dress to remove the soot that had spread from the fall and looked back to Flame Princess.

"Are you here to find some jewelry?"

FP nodded politely, keeping her identity of a simple young girl intact. The young woman motioned for the princess to follow her.

"Well, if you'd like, I happen to have a few myself."

The curious young queen joined the lady in walking up to a nearby shop. Set on a table in front were dozens of handcrafted necklaces. There appeared to be numerous metals used in their construction, all delicately designed with various runes, symbols, and engravings within the tempered materials. FP thought hard about which to pick. She looked up to the woman running the place.

"Tell me, what's the best metal to pick?"

The fiery lady gazed upon the table for a moment before answering.

"I would say platinum is the most sought after, mostly because of its purity."

Flame Princess was intrigued. Pure. Once they figured out the evil within Finn, they would finally be free, nothing else had to be accounted for, truly purified of all separation. It made her flames grow just thinking about it. Just then, she noticed a necklace worn on the fire lady's own neck.

"Is that what yours is made of?" she asked, pointing to the charm shaped like a heart.

Surprisingly, the young woman frowned as she gazed down at her accessory. FP heard her sigh as she gently twirled the heart around in her hand. Then her smile returned, although with a hint of distress still present on her features.

"Yes, forged from the finest metal available."

Flame Princess stared in wonder at the shimmering heart, which was free of all flaws and blemishes.

"Wow. Did your um, boyfriend make that for you?"

She had chosen to be polite and assume she was young enough to still be on her own. The fiery lady's smile dimmed once more, she clutched her necklace in her hand tightly. Out of nowhere, a single lava tear fell from her eye. Flame Princess felt bad, she had obviously hit a sensitive spot.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to say anything. I didn't realize it was a hurtful subject."

The young woman wiped away the single tear then looked up to the disguised princess.

"No, no, you couldn't have known. It's ok."

She released her hold on the heart and watched it spin slightly on its thin chain. Wanting to change the mood, FP returned to looking at the various necklaces on the table. One particular shape caught her eye, an all too familiar symbol that was likely never to leave the thoughts of Finn and herself.

A shining, silvery infinity glowed brightly from the surrounding embers of the Fire Kingdom, reflecting several stripes of golden orange off of its smooth surface. Flame Princess gently picked up the item by its chain and held it up to the fire elemental before her.

"Is this platinum?"

The young woman recovered her smile and nodded.

"Indeed. Interesting that you chose infinity."

FP cupped the symbol in her hands, staring at it intently.

"It has a special meaning, to me and the man I love."

Another sad sigh slipped from out of the lady but she maintained a weak smile.

"Well, I'm sure he'll love it. It'll be 15 gold."

FP reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a handful of the glimmering currency, handing the mass to the lady.

"Hm. I'll have to get you some change. Be right back."

With that, the elemental turned and walked into her shop. Flame Princess continued her gaze on Finn's present. Soon enough, she felt it was too silent.

"You're being awfully quiet Solara."

No answer. The young queen frowned.

"You ok?"

Still nothing. Before she could try again, the woman had returned, offering the princess a light handful of gold that had been exacted as change. The girl accepted the coins and slid them back into her pocket.

"Thank you very much um…I never caught your name."

The fiery woman looked nervous.

"I, prefer to not say it. If it's alright with you."

FP frowned, disappointed, but also understanding that perhaps this lady had some truly painful experience in the past.

"I understand. Well, thank you anyway, I think I found exactly what I was looking for."

She reached out to shake the young woman's hand, which she returned happily. As their hands gripped however, a sudden jolt was shot through Flame Princess's body. In a second, a bright flash blinded her. After recovering her eyesight, she found herself in a completely different location. She was atop a massive wall, holding back raging lava on one side and revealing an overhead view of the Fire Kingdom marketplace on the other.

Something was wrong though. The wall was shaking, heavily. Looking around, she spotted a man in the distance, glowing brightly and walking toward a small band of fire elementals. They appeared terrified by the approaching figure, who was growing even brighter. Suddenly, he stopped and held his hand out to the cowering group.

All at once, a powerful shake was rung through the structure, which began collapsing around the cornered gang, followed by the rest of the wall, crumbling away at the force of whatever the glowing man had done. FP was scared out of her senses, desperately looking around for an explanation. Unable to do so, she held up her hands to cover her ears from the deafening noise of the structure's destruction.

As she shut her eyes, she swore she heard someone approach her, only to uncontrollably move away from them, as if frightened by the entity. Before the girl could set her sights upon the figure, the world was struck by the bright light once more, and everything went black soon after.

* * *

The next time FP awoke, she immediately sat up in a bed. She was breathing erratically as she observed the surroundings. It was not her room, or any that she recognized. What she did recognize was the fire elemental who walked through the curtain hiding the doorway. The young woman from the shop looked relived and strolled up to the bedside, sitting down.

"Thank goodness you're alright."

Flame Princes held a hand to her head, which was aching.

"What happened?"

The lady handed the disguised princess a glass of lava fluid, which she hastily gulped down.

"You fainted, as soon as we shook hands. I was afraid you had exhausted yourself running around the market so I took you in. How are you feeling?"

FP finished the drink and shook her head to loosen her senses. Other than the headache, nothing felt wrong.

"I'm fine, just a little ache in the head."

The woman smiled, happy that her guest hadn't been injured. She placed the empty glass back onto a bedside table and stood up.

"I'm going back out to the kiosk. If you need anything until you feel better, just call, alright?"

The princes nodded and thanked the fire elemental. As the lady exited behind the curtain, FP looked down at her hands. She was extremely confused for a moment before finding the right one to accuse.

"What the heck was that Solara!?"

This time, the ancestral force manifested a piece of herself before the girl, making sure her disguise remained.

"I'm sorry dear, I should've warned you about the intrusion."

Flame Princess only grew angrier.

"What is wrong with you!? You can't just invade a person's memories like that!"

The angelic woman sighed and sat down on the bedside.

"I know. It was wrong, but I just had to make sure it was her."

FP glanced curiously at the entity.

"Who?"

Solara shook her head.

"For another time child, I'd rather not dwell on the past. I have too much of it."

The young queen was getting tired of being dodged repeatedly. However, she was in no position to continue the argument. Bedridden and still a little dizzy, she was in no mood to yell at the precursor.

"You know, you'd better stop calling me that after my birthday."

Solara chuckled.

"Oh my dear, every one of you are my children. It's not something that can be helped."

She turned to look at the fiery girl face to face. A smile was on her features.

"I imagine I'll even call** your** little ones my children. Apologies now in case that would upset you. Have some mercy on a poor old woman."

FP blushed.

"Who ever said I wanted kids?" she stuttered.

The precursor laughed.

"You keep forgetting dear, I have seen every corner of your thoughts and every other fire elemental I've contacted. You cannot lie to my flames."

Flame Princess crossed her arms, pouting.

"Fine, so I do. Now can we talk about something else?"

The ancestral entity grinned, taking one last shot at the young queen.

"I understand. You'll probably want to discuss this with Finn before anyone else."

FP's face reddened more as she glared at the angelic being.

"Solara!"

The precursor laughed again before dissipating back into the girl's body, leaving the fire elemental to huff with frustration. A few minutes later, she managed to relax and pulled her gift to Finn out of her dress. She ran her fingers gently over the smooth metal, examining the beautiful symbol while she waited for her head to stop hurting.

Caught in the moment, Flame Princess thought back to the events at the Citadel. The most prominent of all was the reaction of the orb and entire room for that matter to what she and Finn were doing. She blushed, remembering her embarrassment when Index found them on the floor. Why had the room reacted to their passion, and what did the two of them and Solara have to do with this map to Infinity?

The fiery ruler sighed, thinking the answers would appear in due time. For now, she held her gaze on the silvery object in her hand.

"Infinity, that's how long I want to be with him."

She held the necklace to her chest, closing her eyes and growing a warm smile. In her mind, she wondered if Sentin's earlier offer was genuine. Would they really be able to become precursors themselves? How would this affect them? Living forever, surviving countless cycles of the universe's death.

Death. Flame Princess thought back to her squabble with Solara. It was true, she did want kids. She wanted the chance to experience the joys of parenthood that her father never showed and her mother never had the opportunity to. Could this really be accomplished in an isolated environment such as the Citadel? She had never really thought about her future to such an extent, it confused her. The entity within her reacted.

_I've seen it hundreds of times dear. A man will come into your life, change it forever, want to be with you, and then, before you know it, you'll want to further your love by raising a family of your own. I get to share this feeling every day of my existence. You should by all means join in the happiness. Don't you think?_

Flame Princess let out a breath, feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the new ideas pouring in her mind. One of which was…baby names? She shook her head fiercely as Solara laughed in her mind. It was really becoming a bother to have no privacy.

* * *

A few hours later, FP woke up with a yawn, discovering that her head no longer ached and her limbs felt refreshed and ready to go. Experimentally, she went over to the side of the bed and lowered her feet to the ground. Standing carefully, she discovered that walking was no problem. Happy to finally be back in action, the princess made her way to the doorway and moved aside the curtain.

The room next to hers had been the living room, which in turn connected to the kitchen, where the friendly woman from the shop was busy making what appeared to be dinner. Flame Princess walked over and was soon noticed by the young lady, who smiled as her guest approached.

"Hello there, are you feeling better?"

FP nodded with a return smile. The older fire elemental walked over and joined her hands in front of her while continuing to beam at the girl.

"I'm glad I could help."

Flame Princess bowed a little, which felt a little strange for a royal of her stature.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality, miss."

The lady waved her off with a small blush.

"Oh it was nothing. I should be thanking **you**. It's rare to have some company around here."

FP frowned slightly, remembering the sadness this woman had shown a while ago at the mention of a man in her life.

"By the way, it might not be fair since I refuse to state my name but, what is yours?"

The princess panicked on the inside. She desperately tried to make up something in her mind. Her first thought: thank Glob she'd removed the restraints on lying.

_You're welcome, _Solara butted in.

The fiery girl mentally scowled at the Ancestral Flame then finally came up with a quick story.

"Well, you see, I've kinda been on my own my whole life. I don't think I was ever given a name."

The woman frowned sadly.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I imagine it's difficult for your man to talk to you without even having a name to go with."

FP bit her lip. It was nearly killing her to lie this much. She felt sick. Deciding the visit had to end, she made up a way to wrap up the conversation.

"Anyway, thanks again for all your kindness, I should be going now."

The fire lady smiled a little, still scarred by disappointment.

"Anytime."

The two nodded to each other and the woman led FP out the front door. Outside, she stayed at the entrance until the disguised girl was well out of sight down the street. A solemn gaze was glued to the young lady's face.

_If only I had a daughter like that, so vibrant and full of energy. Am I really going to live the rest of my life like this?_

She sighed, once more grasping the platinum heart around her neck. A moment later, she clicked the object open, revealing a tiny picture of her and a young male fire elemental on one side and what appeared to be an eternally glowing ember on the other. Several tears sprouted down her cheeks as the fiery woman closed her eyes.

_If only I had the heart to face you and apologize for not forgiving you sooner. In reality, your mistake is no greater than mine._

* * *

**_Wow...over 100 reviews. You guys are the best!_**

**_That 100k words is also coming up, finally getting into the big leagues. Awesome._**

**_Since you've thrown so much support at COT, why not also check out 'Phlogiston Theory', if you haven't already. Jen Collic has made quite the heartwarming piece. We often see PB's involvement in the relationship between Finn and Flame Princess but this is a whole new level of family-themed stories. Check it out if your a fan of our #1 couple._**

**_Hope you enjoyed and please review. Later._**

**_next:_**Chapter 19: Alchemist's Apprentice pt.2


	19. Chapter 19: Alchemist's Apprentice pt2

Chapter 19: Alchemist's Apprentice pt.2

(Six days later)

Finn was struggling to keep his hands on the surface of the rock face as electric arcs of blue continued to spit out of his palms. The young man could barely hold up his arms at this point, in addition to already being unable to feel them as well. Slowly, his grip on the stone weakened and he slid to his knees, overpowered by the draining of the alchemic reaction.

Finally, the hero's body collapsed, falling to the hard volcanic ground with a thud. He didn't even have the strength to let out a pained shout. The human lay there, panting heavily, until his teacher casually walked up to his spread out form. Ferrum leaned over to make sure his friend wasn't dying then stood back up straight and smiled.

"Three and a half minutes. Impressive Finn."

The hero gave the best grin he could and shakily gave a thumbs up. The blacksmith nodded to him and walked over to the massive boulder which the young man had been testing on and took out a small rock hammer. Gently, he tapped the tool against the stone. A second later, hundreds of cracks spread across the surface, until eventually the object appeared to be coated in a dark spider web.

After a bit of rumbling, the boulder shattered into a million pieces, falling into a large pile of tiny grains. Ferrum bent down and took a handful of the mineral, rubbing it between his fingers to feel how fine the remains were. Satisfied, he poured what was left back to the ground and strolled back over to Finn, who had managed to sit up.

"Excellent consistency, no remaining shards or pebbles, well done Finn, you passed the endurance test."

The hero grinned weakly, still drained. He was however able to reach up and accept Ferrum's hand to pull him up. Standing was a challenge, as was walking. As the human continued to wobble around, the fire elemental strode over to his pack and pulled out one of his mysterious glowing orbs.

He walked back to the exhausted young man and suddenly pressed his hand onto the hero's chest.

"Conduit Catalyst."

The orange orb intensified its light before transferring energy through Ferrum's body and finally into Finn's. Slowly, the human felt his strength starting to return. His balance recovered, his vision steadied, and he managed to stand without shaking. Shaking his head to let out the leftover grogginess, Finn looked to the alchemist. The man was grinning.

"There you go, good as new."

He patted the hero on the arm.

"Whoa. What is that thing?" the curious young man asked, pointing to the now dimmed orb.

Ferrum held up the darkened item.

"Thermal sphere. Holds a ton of heat. Just got to let it sit in lava for a few days and you've got portable Catalyst energy."

He tossed to object to Finn, who caught and examined it with great interest. It was still warm from the energy it once held but clearly had been sucked dry. Ferrum returned to his pack and began digging though it intently while continuing to converse with his student.

"I've got to say Finn, you're a natural alchemist. Took me almost twice the time to learn the basics."

The young man smiled as he set down the sphere, then he took a triumphant pose.

"Heck yeah. That's how awesome I am."

Ferrum smirked as he found what he was looking for. He retracted his hands to reveal a set of throwing disks. The black smith walked back over to his friend and held up the saucers.

"Well smart guy, let's see those flames of yours if you think you're so good."

Finn grinned with determination as he balled his fists.

"Bring it on. I'm gonna kick this test's butt."

The blacksmith smiled and stood back a bit, preparing to throw the targets. Meanwhile, the hero was doing a quick meditation, breathing in and out slowly, focusing on directing his internal energy.

_Just remember that beautiful flowing hair Finn._

He opened his eyes and held his hands up higher. Slight sparks of purple electricity jumped out of his fingers. Ferrum frowned, remembering how he had wondered all week why flame alchemy triggered the use of a second energy flow. He had watched Finn carefully throughout his training, all the way from mastering drawing transmutation circles to using handheld reactions. There was still no explanation. He figured he'd ask Princess Bubblegum about it once they returned to the Candy Kingdom.

"Alright, here we go."

The fire elemental expertly slung multiple disks into the air, making them sail at high speed over the edge of the mountain. Finn narrowed his eyes and aimed at the flying objects. In an instant, arcs of energy surrounded his lower arms and ignited with balls of flame. The human then proceeded to fire the concentrated combustion at the saucers.

Ferrum watched in amazement as Finn blasted round after round of flames at the disks, incinerating them one by one. If he didn't know better, he could swear the young man was a fire elemental. Getting back into focus, the blacksmith raised more saucers.

"Here's round two!"

First, a handful to his right, then, another several to his left. Ferrum felt confident that the human would miss at least a few of them. Finn darted his eyes at the far spread targets, thinking hard. Suddenly, an idea came to him, remembering his dungeon crawl with Flame Princess all those years ago. He raised his arms high and focused his energy onto his back. Ferrum looked curious.

A moment later, the hero let out a deep breath and flung his arms forward, unleashing six individual bolts of fire from behind him at the disks, which were hunted down by the flames and turned to ashes. His teacher was astonished. Refusing to let up, he grabbed the dozen remaining saucers and started spinning around. After a minute, he released his hold on the objects, which scattered in all directions with extreme speed.

The alchemist grinned at this student, who was looking nervous as he contemplated his next move. The human could no longer reach the disks with his accuracy, he needed another way. It was then he remembered: they were surrounded by lava on all sides.

Ferrum watched in shock as Finn kneeled down and pressed his hands to the ground, unleashing enormous arcs of purple electricity, strong enough to cause the very earth to vibrate around them. After a buildup of bubbling and gurgling, several columns of molten rock shot into the air, liquefying the spreading disks that were in their path.

The alchemist was in disbelief, unable to comprehend how his friend had such command over this particular branch of transmutations. As the lava fell back into the surrounding lake, Ferrum turned to see Finn victoriously grinning at his teacher. A few seconds later though, he coughed up blood.

The blacksmith ran up to the human, who took a knee as his body fluids continued to leak out of his mouth. Ferrum quickly placed his palm upon the hero's chest, searching for the point of damage.

"Where is it hurting?" he asked hurriedly.

Finn motioned to the area around his kidney before collapsing to the ground. The alchemist acted fast, grabbing another thermal sphere from his pack and sliding down next to the bleeding human. He pressed his hand to the area the young man had indicated and drew power form the orb.

"Harmonic Catalyst."

Orange arcs flew from Ferrum's hands into Finn's injured side. After a moment, the hero began to feel revived. As the reaction finished, the fire elemental helped the human sit up. The burns he caused were well ignored at this point. Finn seemed to adapt.

"Dang it Finn. You pushed it with that last move. Your body was starting to be transmuted."

The young man groaned as he began to stand up. Ferrum continued to aid him in the event that his friend was still weakened. The hero seemed to be fairly robust though, and shook of the remaining numbness in his body.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I got a little carried away."

He rubbed the back of his neck while letting out a chuckle. Ferrum rolled his eyes. In reality though, he was still thinking about the incredible mastery the human had over combustion. Although the process had caused him some harm, it was fairly advanced for someone such as the young man to conjure up streams of molten rock.

"Well, regardless, you passed the handheld reactions test. So now all that's left is the control test."

At this, Finn's excitement increased tenfold. He hopped up and down in place, eager to complete his training.

"Sweet! What do I have to do?"

Ferrum picked up his thermal sphere and motioned for the young man to take it, who examined it curiously. This one was fully charged yet wasn't hurting him.

"Huh," Ferrum pondered. "I'm surprised it's not burning you."

Finn just stared at the orange glow within the orb.

"Yeah, me too."

The blacksmith backed up several feet, then pointed to the peak of the volcano, which they had descended from earlier to carry out the tests.

"I have faith in you Finn. This last test will take your full concentration and skill. Your final requirement is to blow that peak clean off the mountain."

Finn nearly dropped the sphere he was holding. His mouth however, wasn't so lucky. He legitimately thought his friend was crazy.

"What!? How do you expect me to do that?"

Ferrum shook his head disappointedly. Looking back at the human, he motioned to the orb.

"Why do you think I gave you that?"

Finn gazed upon the thermal sphere once more. After a minute of thinking, he looked to the fire elemental, with a look of astonishment.

"You, you want me to perform a Catalyst reaction?"

The alchemist crossed his arms and grinned, nodding.

Finn looked up at the peak. It was quite a bit larger than the boulder he had disintegrated earlier and that alone had drained him to the core. He thought back to his reading on the Catalysts, powerful reactions that did not use one's own energy but rather an outside force:

_Your body acts as the catalyst, directing insurmountable energy through your heart and forcing it into a shape that can create incredible effects, leveling whole buildings or healing the greatest of injuries. But be warned: the Catalysts are the single greatest series of transmutations, too strong to be performed non-verbally. If the correct procedure is not taken, you will unleash disaster on a tremendous scale…_

The human gulped, remembering the warning. He looked back at Ferrum, who was patiently waiting for his student to begin, then at the peak, sturdy and seemingly unmovable, then finally at the glowing orb, orange and vibrant. It reminded him of, well, you could take a guess. A smile was drawn to the young man's face. He shrugged, mostly to himself.

_Sure, I'll move a mountain for her._

Finn held the sphere close to his chest, closing his eyes and once again focusing on his goal. The beating of his heart was no good, too rigid. The gentle thoughts of his lady standing in the wind however brought a delightful hope to his very soul. He unconsciously began swaying back and forth, imagining he was there with her, standing near that same beach he had brought up earlier while in the stasis void during his trial.

Ferrum raised an eyebrow as he watched what the young man was doing.

_Kid's weird, but I can't argue with his results._

Finn opened his eyes slowly, taking a deep breath then letting in out. The sphere began to grow dimmer. He then took a step toward the peak, followed by another, and another, until he was in a jog. This changed into a run, then a full on sprint. He dropped the orb to the side, which hit the ground with a clang. It was completely drained. With full force, the human slammed his open palm into the rock.

"Violent Catalyst!"

* * *

Ferrum had failed to mention he lied about the volcano being extinct. As he and Finn ran down the side of the exploding mountain, hoping to escape a rapidly approaching river of lava, the human yelled about him being insane and how he was going to tell Flame Princess about his fib and get the stuff beaten out of him. The alchemist just laughed.

"I figured you'd like something like this. Gets the adventuring blood flowing doesn't it?"

The young man just kept running without turning his head to face the fire elemental.

"You made me blow up a freaking volcano dude! I can't survive lava!"

The blacksmith thought for a moment as he felt the wave of molten rock approaching. Suddenly he sent several arcs of alchemic electricity into the ground, which sheared off two identical flat pieces of rock from the mountain side. Ferrum grabbed both and tossed one to Finn, who caught it with confusion.

"You ever went surfing before?"

The human shook his head violently, still in a panic. The elemental chuckled.

"Well, today's the day to learn."

With that, Ferrum threw his board down and fell onto the stream of lava, keeping his balance as his ride carried him down the mountain. Finn watched in awe as his friend performed several flips and turns. The young man only broke his stare when the lava behind him started to burn his buns.

With a yelp, the hero threw his own board downs and threw himself on top of it. The lava current caught him and began rushing him downhill. Ferrum rode up alongside the nervous human.

"Come on Finn, stand up. I know you've got good balance."

Afraid at first, but willing to give it a shot, the hero slowly got to his feet, making sure his knees and feet were firmly in control of his stance. Eventually, he found a comfortable position and began mimicking the technique Ferrum was using to move around on the lava. After a few minutes, the young man finally smiled.

"Whoa! This is awesome!"

The blacksmith laughed.

"I knew I'd get you. By the way, this is the celebration part. Congratulations Finn, you are now an alchemist."

The human's eyes grew wide as he threw his arms in the air crying out his success. With that, he returned to focusing on his surfing, still a bit wobbly on the board. The base of the volcano was nearing fast, and they both knew the wave would carry on quite a ways from the mountain into the lake of molten rock. Suddenly, dark shapes began to blot out the sun, causing the two surfers to look up.

Above them, flaming rocks were being blasted from the top of the newly triggered volcano, many of which now tumbled toward the defenseless riders. Ferrum attempted to blast the falling boulders aside with his flames, but to no effect. Next he thought of alchemy, but there was no material to use nearby and a Catalyst reaction might just worsen the situation. A moment later, one of the boulders threatened to crush the fire elemental, who covered his head awaiting impact.

It never came. An odd sound filled the air and a slicing motion was heard following. Ferrum looked back to the rock to see it cleaved neatly in half, floating in midair. Astonished, the man turned to see Finn, wielding his infinity sword. He wore an excited grin on his face, smirking at the blacksmith.

"I thought you said we're having some adventure?"

Ferrum's expression turned to embarrassment as he shrugged. Finn shook his head with a smile and returned his gaze to the falling debris still flying at them. He unleashed additional arcs of temporal energy from his weapon, bisecting the boulders and suspending them one by one. He was having so much fun he didn't notice another wave of lava behind them, threatening to swallow the two guys.

"Finn! We've got to move!"

The human finally saw the wall of molten rock and his eyes grew wide. He looked down to his sword, still emanating the mysterious power of time-space. A grin formed on his face as he stared back at the wave. Ferrum thought the young man was nuts as he watched the hero walk to the back edge of his board and held the blade of his weapon to his hand.

The alchemist was shocked to see a purple aura appear around the sword. Finn was concentrating, holding his eyes gently closed as he focused his energy into his sword. With the wave of molten death only a few feet away, the human suddenly flashed open his sight and stabbed the oncoming lava with his blade.

Incredibly, the melted rock instantly began to harden, until it no longer chased the two humanoids as they continued out into the lake of magma. Any lava behind it was held back by the newly formed barrier. Finn placed his sword over his shoulder and turned to face Ferrum, who was still dumbfounded.

"How did you…?"

The young man was grinning again.

"Just a little mix of alchemy, awesome sword, and being amazing."

The fire elemental couldn't help but laugh as they gently glided across the lava toward a nearby shore.

"Getting a little cocky there my friend."

Finn replaced his weapon into his pack and joined Ferrum in a few simple tricks while they waited for the wave to drop them off. Behind them, the volcano was still exploding. The human watched as brilliant shades of orange, red, and yellow were spewed out of the mountain's top. It reminded him of fireworks, the kind used for grand celebrations.

_Celebration…_

The young man smacked the side of his head with his hand.

"Oh crud! FP's birthday! It's tomorrow!"

Ferrum looked over to his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"You just now remembered something that important?"

The human frowned.

"Hey man, give me a break. That whole time wave junk is confusing."

Then he thought of something else.

"Oh yeah…I'm eighteen now!"

Ferrum smirked.

"I forgot my own birthdays too when I was training in alchemy. Maybe we get a little too into it."

Finn laughed at the comment as their rock boards hit the shore with a crunch. Both 'men' hoped off and landed firmly on solid ground. The fire elemental pulled out a map from his pack. As he was busy orienting their position, his friend was deep in thought.

_What can I get Flame Princess? Darn, stupid time-lapse._

Ferrum walked up and tapped the young man on the shoulder. He pointed in a certain direction.

"City's that way. Ready to go?"

Finn nodded sadly, still upset over his lack of keeping his dates straight. The two companions began their trek back to civilization, not speaking a word for several minutes as they climbed over and between multiple crevices. The whole time the hero was thinking of a gift for his fiancée. It was quite difficult to imagine he'd find the right thing in less than a day.

About an hour later, the friends came upon a seemingly old cave entrance, which was riddled with various support rods that had long since degraded. Ferrum explained that it was an old mine, likely used to find rare minerals. Finn's natural attraction to potentially dangerous environments got the best of him, and he convinced the blacksmith to take a detour through the tunnels.

Reluctantly, Ferrum agreed. As they made their way inside, the alchemist's glow provided all the light they needed to make sure as to not trip or fall down a deep chasm. The walls were indeed striped for metal ores, lined with deposits of volcanic dust from where the miners had long ago retrieved the precious resource below.

Halfway through, Finn could swear he saw something glimmer in Ferrum's light.

"Hey dude, come back here real quick. I see something bright."

The blacksmith curiously backed up and followed the human's gaze. There was indeed a reflective shimmer coming from and old pile of soot. Walking up to the left over waste, they bent down and looked closer. A green object was lying partially buried by the surrounding black dirt. Finn carefully reached in and pulled the item into his hand, which he opened to present the find to both himself and his friend.

They both grew wide-eyed. It was an emerald; dimly shining in the fire elemental's flames. Finn asked Ferrum for his rock polishing kit, which he kept in his pack in the event he found a gem while exploring. A few minutes later, the human removed the polishing rag and examined the newly cleaned stone. It nearly glowed in the fires as Finn stared at it intently. Ferrum watched his companion with a grin.

"Must have been missed in the processing. Quite a bit of luck you've got there."

He gave the hero a pat on the back. The young man in turn gave the blacksmith his kit back and stood up, placing the gem in his pocket. With that done, the two pushed on through the mine until at last, natural light punched into the tunnels, revealing the way out. Emerging into open air again, they both took in a fresh breath (well, as fresh as you can find in the Fire Kingdom's ash filled skies).

The city was now in sight, just beyond another small mountain. It would take no time at all for them to finally reach civilization again. As Ferrum motioned for his friend to follow, Finn happily strolled along, pleased at his newly acquired treasure.

A few miles in though, the human began hearing a slight clanking in his pants. Reaching in, he found both the emerald and the kissing rock he and FP used. He spotted the tiny heart his lady had burned into the side, making him smile thoughtfully. Suddenly, it hit him. He tightened his grip on the two objects and caught up to his alchemist friend.

"Hey Ferrum, can we stop for a second?"

The fiery man looked a bit confused but shrugged and gladly accepted the break.

"Sure, but why now?"

Finn held up his open hand, revealing the two stones. He had a magnificent grin on his face.

"I know what to give Flame Princess. And I can do it using every bit of my heart."

Ferrum was again confused. After taking a seat on a rock, he looked on as the human kneeled down and pulled out his infinity sword. Using the tip of the blade, he quickly drew a transmutation circle in the ground. The blacksmith was surprised and leaned in to watch closely. After setting the kissing rock into the center, Finn took a few deep breaths and pressed his palms into the ground, lighting up both his palms and the circle with purple electricity.

The fire elemental was shocked. The hero really was putting in the full effort of his heart to shaping the symbolic item in the center of the reaction. The stone began to slowly heat up, turning a dull red before brightening to a light orange. Finn stared at the item with full concentration, willing the material to slowly shift its form. The rock's shape gradually changed, morphing into a thin bracelet, whose top section was formed into an infinity rune.

Satisfied with the results, the human released his hold on the earth and the reaction dissipated, leaving the cooling bracelet to steam gently on the ground. After a few minutes, Finn was able to pick up the jewelry and asked Ferrum for the smallest rock chisel he had. The man complied and handed the tool to his friend, who began gently chipping away an impression into the stone.

A moment later, Finn took the emerald and delicately set the gem into the perfectly matching slot he had carved. With a quick shot of alchemy, the bracelet's material hugged the precious stone, making sure it wouldn't fall off. As a last measure, the young man checked the inside rim of the item he had created. He smiled. Within the inner side of the bracelet, FP's tiny heart remained undamaged, carefully isolated from the shifting force of Finn's transmutation.

Ferrum had an impressed grin upon his face as his friend slid the jewelry into his pocket.

"You know Finn, you might just make an excellent blacksmith as well."

The human chuckled.

"Na. Protecting the queen, alchemy, combat specialist. I don't want to steal **all **your thunder."

The two chums laughed it up, playfully socking each other in the arm until they arrived at the Fire Kingdom city gates.

* * *

Flame Princess gently opened her eyes, staring at her ceiling before slowly sitting up in bed. She smiled as she thought about the last week. Every day, she and Solara had journeyed into the city to discover new activities that a person of royalty would never have the chance to enjoy. It was such an incredible experience that FP didn't want to go back, which may have happened if not for the precursor's arguments against it.

The young queen looked over to her bedside table and saw her gift to Finn resting upon it, glimmering from the girl's flaming hair. She reached out and took the necklace in her hands, once more feeling the smooth edge of the platinum infinity symbol. Every so often, she would wonder again at the involvement the strange rune had to her and Finn. Why did it begin appearing once they were at last together for real?

Flame Princess didn't have time to ponder further. A knock came to her door.

"Princess, are you up dear?"

FP swung her legs over to the floor and stood up.

"Yeah Solara, just give me a minute."

The ancestral entity confirmed and by the sound of her steps, continued down the hall outside. The fiery girl placed the necklace back on the table and gazed at it for another second. She frowned.

_Darn it Finn. I wanted to give you this on your __**actual **__birthday. How long will you be?_

Shaking off her mild irritation, the princess raised her arms as she walked to the mirror and reconstructed her flames to produce her royal dress. Taking the brush off of her dresser, she then proceeded to brush her fairly tangled hair. Contrary to popular belief, they were in fact individual strands; it was just that under normal conditions her flames burned so hot that the follicles partially dissipated into combustive particles, creating the appearance of her head being on fire.

It had become quite strange for FP to look herself in the mirror. It was like she was two different people now. Within the palace she was the ruler of the fire elementals, but out in town, she was an average citizen looking for a good time. She rather liked the disguise Solara had crafted, it fit her somehow.

Flame Princess also thought of a prank she could pull on Finn. She'd walk up and tease him with her alternate appearance, attempt to seduce him with her looks, only to laugh herself to pieces when she saw the look on his face after the Ancestral Flame dropped the farce.

The girl giggled to herself. However, she suddenly frowned a bit. What if Finn fell for it? What if he thought her 'other self' was a better woman than she was? The thinking made her sad, until she noticed an increasing intensity of heat on her hand. Her smile returned.

_They're back. Somewhere in the city no doubt._

The ring then stopped raising its temperature. FP looked at it in confusion.

_Why did he stop coming closer. Are they not coming straight to the palace?_

The prediction only worsened the fiery girl's worries from before, about Finn finding someone else. She looked at the walls in thought, until she noticed her calendar. She walked over and realized she never corrected it for the time-lapse. The fire elemental raised her hand and burned away three pages of the time graph, revealing the correct month, with two circles placed around a pair of days near to each other.

The first was Finn's birthday, the second…her own birthday! FP hit the side of her head, smiling once again.

_Of course! He's probably finding a present for me._

Excitement filled the young queen's head as she imagined the heartfelt moment when the couple would exchange their gifts, only to end the event with a loving embrace and a kiss. Her flames fired up at the thought, her hands held to her chest.

In an instant though, much of the joy came crashing down. FP remembered one important detail: the two teens couldn't be near each other. He hands changed into balled fists as an upset look was drawn on her features.

"Why, why is the universe such a jerk!?"

She slammed her now flaming fist into the wall, rocking the whole room and earning a few shocked gasps from the other residents of the palace who could be heard through the walls. FP calmed herself down, not wanting to damage her castle as she did Bubblegum's. After finished her hair, she considered for a moment, then grabbed Finn's gift and put it into her dress pocket. She then put on her crown and walked out of the room. Solara was waiting patiently against the wall. She smiled as the fiery princess strolled out.

"Good morning dear."

FP smiled back, rubbing her arm nervously.

"Good morning. Sorry about that earlier."

The precursor held up her hands.

"Oh it's alright, every so often one needs to blow off steam."

The angelic entity held out her hand.

"Ready to find something new?"

Flame Princess nodded and took Solara's hand.

"Ready."

With that, the Ancestral Flame fused once again with the princess of flames, shifting her form into the disguise she had been wearing for the past several days. Twirling a bit in her altered dress, FP happily walked through the corridors until she came out to the throne room. Cinnamon Bun was still vigilantly guarding the throne. He hadn't questioned the disappearance of the queen, but he never forgot to wave to the pretty girl that left the palace every morning.

Once again out in the market, the two ladies made their way through countless crowds to find something fun or interesting. While pacing along, FP constantly focused a little on her ring, which was gradually getting warmer. Her spirits were rising every second; secretly hoping that she'd bump into Finn.

A few minutes later though, Solara piped in.

"Flame Princess, I suggest you put your ring in your pocket for the moment."

The girl was taken aback.

"What, why?"

The precursor sighed within the girl's mind.

"I know what you're thinking. Running into Finn won't end well. Remember his condition."

FP frowned.

"But, he won't know it's me. So shouldn't that mean he won't, you know…freak out?"

Solara took a silent moment to think.

"Let's say he doesn't. What will you do? Walk up to him and plant one right on his mouth? He'll think you're some crazy person! And can you imagine the guilt he would feel?"

Flame Princess fought back the argument.

"But I'd tell him it was me later. So no harm done."

The entity was prepared to counter.

"And how long will that be? We still don't even know how to remove the infection. How long would Finn be left to his own shame of thinking he kissed another girl?"

This one hit FP hard. She silenced herself any further disagreement. Reluctantly, she slid her engagement ring off and placed it in her dress. It saddened her to remove the proof of her commitment to Finn. One final thought suddenly struck in her head. She remembered her fear of her man's unfaithfulness.

"Are you being serious child?"

Solara would probably look disappointed were she not within FP's body. The fiery girl let out a sigh.

"I don't know, I just, have this scary thought that…it could happen."

The rest of the walk was in silence as Flame Princess made her way through the various streets of the kingdom, looking around for something to do. This was unsuccessful, as her thoughts kept being dragged to not knowing how close Finn was to her, thanks to the absence of the ring on her finger.

This continued for most of the day, up until it started to get dark out. The late afternoon had arrived and most of the shops and places of entertainment were closing up. Giving up, FP declared they were going home.

On the way, she pondered about the next day. She would finally be eighteen, the big year where so much changes for a person, especially royalty. A few weeks ago, she would've been dreading this day; today however, nothing had changed. She couldn't be near Finn, on risk of both of their health. She would celebrate with everyone but the one person she needed the most.

"Oof!"

Flame Princess hadn't noticed she'd been staring at the ground without paying attention. She had inadvertently run into someone, again. At least this time, neither of them fell over. Stumbling back, FP ran her eyes over the individual before her with the intent to apologize. However, she was too shocked to do so.

"Oh jeez. Sorry about that. I wasn't really looing where I was going."

Finn gave the girl he couldn't recognize a goofy grin, stating the obvious knowledge of his mistake. Flame Princess just continued to stare, unable to respond. The human frowned at her.

"Are you ok?"

The fiery girl finally managed to recover, clearing her throat.

_Dear, don't do this, just walk away!_

FP didn't listen.

"It's alright. We're both to blame, I was just staring at the ground."

Finn looked curious all of a sudden.

"Um, do I, know you from somewhere?"

Solara gasped within the young queen.

_Oh shoot! Your voice, it's still the same!_

Flame Princess quickly gave a few fake coughs and redid her voice to a degree that sounded different enough to fool the hero in front of her.

"No, I don't believe so. May I ask who I ran into?"

The Ancestral Flame groaned, noticing the all too friendly tone in the fire elemental's voice.

_Please, don't do this dear._

FP ignored the plea. Finn looked slightly uncomfortable but answered.

"I'm uh Finn, Finn the Human. Not trying to have an ego here but I would think everyone in the kingdom would know me."

Flame Princess took a step closer to the human. His nervousness grew.

"Maybe we could walk and talk?"

The hero darted his eyes all around.

"Well, you see, I'm kind of looking for someone."

He was fiddling with his ring, which the girl noticed.

_He's looking for me, but, could he still be turned?_

Solara's pleading returned.

_For the love of Glob, or whatever your cycle calls it, let this go princess!_

The girl took one step closer to Finn. At this point, he was backed against a wall, and blushing slightly.

"Well, I'd say you found someone, someone you think looks quite nice, am I right?"

She seductively batted her eyes and smiled as warmly as she could. Then, she thought of a bonus. Finn hadn't yet heard the repeal of the lying rule.

"And you really shouldn't **lie**,right?"

The human was becoming most flustered. Why was this mysterious girl getting all up in his stuff? He hated to admit it though, she was quite attractive, beautiful dare he say it. And her eyes, there was something about those eyes.

Solara realized another mistake.

_Ugh, Solara you idiot! You didn't change her eyes either. This will be on you as well now._

Finn cleared his throat, still incredibly nervous.

"Well, if I have to. You're, honestly…beautiful. There, I said it, can you please let me get by now?"

Flame Princess felt a little hurt. But days of being a commoner had taught her to keep her cool. Her seductive smile remained.

"Then why don't you realize you've found someone worth your time. Maybe you'd like to hang with me for a little while?"

Finn took a stand.

"No, I have to get to my lady, well I mean, I can't really be with her but…ugh."

His frustration was building. FP tried one more step.

"Then why go? If you can't even be with her, can't embrace her, or kiss her, then why stay with her? Why not move on?"

The girl tried to put her hand on the young man's cheek. He suddenly exploded, smacking aside the approaching appendage.

"I love her! She's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me! I've trampled over nature for her, went through living nightosphere for her, and have gotten layers upon layers of burns, knowing that one day I'll find a way to be with her! Now I just had another obstacle thrown in, but I don't care! She'll always be the only woman I'd ever dare to love!"

Finn began to sob slightly, overwhelmed by the emotion he had just thrown out. He managed to look to the girl before him, only to see her beginning to cry as well. Immediately, his righteous spirit made him want to apologize, for he thought he had upset her. How wrong he was.

Flame Princess was stunned by her man's statement.

_What was I thinking? After all that we've been through, for years even, and here I am, corrupted by a thought that is poisoning my mind. I can't let that happen, especially since Finn is already suffering from that accursed evil within his heart._

The human looked sadly at the girl.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I just, I've been through enough already. You couldn't have known, but I'm sorry nonetheless. I have to g-"

His lips were suddenly surrounded by those of the fiery elemental. She closed her eyes, in bliss by the contact that was deprived of her for so many days. Her flames sprouted into the air, clearly stating her happiness at the moment. However, in her euphoric state, she failed to notice the feeling was entirely one sided.

Finn's eyes trembled dangerously for the first few split seconds. He felt as if the world had just delivered a curse upon his head. Another girl was kissing him. And based on his ring's heat, she was nearby. He briefly thought about just dying so he wouldn't have to face the broken hearted queen if she witnessed this act. Of course, that was before he suddenly realized that the kiss was not burning him.

_Flame Princess!?_

Her voice, her eyes, the lack of burning, the tears at his statement of faithfulness, the heat on his ring. It had to be her! Regaining his senses, Finn pushed the girl away from him. He gave her a disbelieving stare.

"Flame Princess?"

Solara knew the jig was up, and it was better to come clean anyway. She separated herself from FP's body and appeared next to her, returning the fiery girl's original form. The princess stood shocked, realizing she was exposed.

"Finn, I'm so sorry. I had terrible thoughts, awful ones. We were split apart again, after everything. I, I came to think…you'd want to have someone you could actually be with."

She was sobbing heavily at this point. Lava was gathering at her feet. For a moment, she thought the human had run away in utter despair. Her theory was proven wrong as she felt two arms suddenly wrap around her. Her tear-filled eyes shot open, gazing at the young man who had embraced her.

"I would swear on my soul, that such a thing will never happen."

Finn reached into his pocket.

"We are something special FP, we have more than just love or ways to overcome the very laws of physics."

He stood back from the girl, still holding her in his free arm. With the other, he held up the bracelet he had made for her. She gasped, gazing at the object with astonishment. She managed to reach into her own pocket and held up the necklace she'd gotten for him. Finn looked touched by the item; he smiled warmly, and then continued.

"We have hearts that are joined and melded, like two fires that grow stronger by consuming each other. Our love is one enormous bonfire, one that can never be overcome. Because there's one law that is constant in existence, just like Index told us."

The two were now lost in each other's eyes.

"That which is endless can't be overcome. And our love is as strong as…"

"Infinity," they both whispered in unison.

One last kiss was shared between them. As their lips were busy re-igniting passion and trust, their hands were placing the bracelet on FP's wrist and the necklace around Finn's neck. The kiss itself was not anything special, just the two of them, holding the moment for as long as possible. By this time the streets were all but deserted, no one to interrupt, save for Solara, but she just stood there, a few tears of her own falling down her white cheeks.

Her flames crawled over to the couple on their own; turning pink and shaping into the very symbol of the human and fire elemental's love. The heat from the magical fire was comforting, giving the two an absolutely silent state in which to finally seal their faith in each other. All doubt was burned away, all fear was incinerated, every emotion of discord and uncertainty fled at the might of the flames within the lovers' hearts.

Satisfied with the moment of peace, the two finally pulled away from each other and shared a simple hug, closing their eyes and feeling the vibrant energy from each other cycle through their bodies.

"Happy early birthday Flame Princess."

The fiery girl smiled with gratitude and happiness.

"Happy late birthday Finn."

They tightened their embrace, never wanting to let go again. And they wouldn't have, save for Finn's sudden concern. He lifted his head and looked to the precursor, who was still leaking a few tears.

"Solara."

His voice was dead serious, snapping both the woman and FP out of their state of bliss.

"Get me away...NOW!"

He couldn't hold it back anymore. A sinister pulse shot through his body, igniting his veins and taking over in a matter of seconds. The human's final act under his own will was to shove himself away from the one he loved, giving a final smile before losing himself to the evil.

_HAHAHA! What a rush, what a feast of power! Now let's use it Finn!_

The hero closed his eyes as Solara formed a vortex around him, cutting off his oxygen and causing him to slowly pass out.

"Not today, you sick freak…"

His body hit the floor, already struggling to breath. The vile force within him growled in rage, but it was no use. Finn slipped out of consciousness.

Flame Princess gathered the young man in her arms, newly formed tears splashing down onto the hero's shirt. Solara joined them a second later, kneeling down to check on him.

"Finn! Finn! I saw that vortex, what in Grod's name happ-"

Ferrum came running down the street, but was astonished at what he saw. His friend lay crumpled in his ruler's arms, with the fiery precursor nearby, sadly examining the young man. The alchemist made it to the group and immediately placed his hands on Finn's chest. Orange electricity shot through the human and gave him the information he needed.

He stared at FP.

"What happened?"

Flame Princess just continued her sobbing.

"He tried to hold it in, to beat it back, but he reached a limit. Solara had to stop him."

Ferrum looked helplessly at the human, unconscious but luckily unharmed. To everyone's surprise, their insignias from the Citadel began to light up. From virtually thin air, Princess Bubblegum's voice was heard.

"Guys, get to the Citadel, now! We've got an issue!"

The three fire beings looked at each other. Ferrum spoke first.

"The fortress has got to have a place we can let Finn rest. Let's go."

The two ladies nodded and held their hands to their symbols. Ferrum did the same. FP held her other hand to Finn's. The four individuals began to dissipate, preparing their bodies for inter-dimensional travel. With a final flash, the group vanished from the streets of the Fire Kingdom.

* * *

**_Over 100k words. And there's still so much more to go. Hope you guys are up for it._**

**_Hope you enjoyed and please review!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 20: Demonic Disturbance


	20. Chapter 20: Demonic Disturbance

Chapter 20: Demonic Disturbance

Princess Bubblegum, Jake, Marceline, and Ice King were anxiously waiting in the Citadel's central room. The orb was depicting a map of what appeared to be the nightosphere, with a flashing red dot somewhere on the surface. Index was busy analyzing something on a hologram monitor, utterly focused on his task. Sentin stood by the wall, gazing into the orb's display, wondering what the anomaly could be.

No one said a word. It was actually quite awkward. Luckily, it didn't stay that way for much longer. Four beings began to materialize in the room, all of them were kneeling to the ground. As their forms solidified, everyone in the chamber gasped.

Ferrum, Solara, and Flame Princess were gathered close around an unconscious Finn, who appeared to be struggling internally. The crowd gathered around and quickly panicked. PB looked to the fiery precursor.

"Solara, what happened!?"

The Ancestral Flame lowered her head sadly.

"I'm sorry to say but, Finn's problem returned."

The candy ruler's eyes went wide.

"Did he get into a fight?"

The angelic woman shook her head. PB looked back to Finn, who still had the appearance of someone having a bad nightmare.

"Then how did…"

She stared at Flame Princess. The fire elemental was still gently sobbing as she held her man in her arms.

"He got near you FP? Dang that boy's lack of self-control!"

The fiery ruler spoke up.

"No. It was my fault, I went looking for him."

Everyone set their eyes upon the crying girl. PB was in disbelief.

"Flame Princess, how could you? You knew the risks."

The elemental gazed into the pink lady's eyes. Her tears were clouding a good deal of her vision.

"I just couldn't stay away. After years of having him support me, I couldn't stand to be without him for so long. I grew scared. I, I doubted him. It was a big mistake and I'm sorry."

Peebles was, honestly, quite furious. However, now was not the time to start yelling. Finn needed to be taken care of immediately. She got up and looked to the archivist precursor.

"Index, is there a medical treatment room here?"

The machine nodded and floated over.

"I will take you there. But I'm afraid the only thing we can do for him right now is restrain him. He's losing the battle to the infection."

Everyone sadly looked upon the human. His body was fidgeting every so often, while his eyes were tightly shut with his teeth nearly grinding against each other. Index lifted an arm and the hero suddenly began to levitate. Flame Princess stayed by his side as the young man was then carried through the room toward a corridor. Ice King, Sentin, and Marcy stayed behind to monitor the nightosphere, grim looks upon their faces.

"Oh beans, if Finn goes nuts who will be my future best man?"

Marceline smacked the ice wizard over the head with the blunt side of her bass. He shouted out painfully as the vampire scowled a him.

* * *

Index led the way, still hovering Finn's body swiftly behind him. The hero's friends were staying close by at a jog. FP refused to get any further than right next to him while the others were struggling to keep up. PB looked over to Solara.

"What exactly happened?"

The fiery woman frowned harder as she ran.

"While Finn was off training in alchemy with Ferrum, I created a disguise for Flame Princess so that she could walk among the common folk. When he returned however, she was distraught as to his faithfulness. I tried to stop her but she cornered the boy and pressured him. Although the resulting confrontation settled the issue, it was revealed Finn was holding back the evil through sheer will the whole time."

The ancestral being looked over at the candy ruler.

"He could no longer hold it and ordered me to knock him out."

Princess Bubblegum took a moment to take in the story. What happened was a direct defiance of her most valued saying. Responsibility had been forgone in favor of unstable emotion. For the moment, her royal side took over, thinking how reckless and foolish the fiery princess had been with both their lives.

There was no further time to think. The corridor ended at a massive door, which Index opened with a motion of his hand. The elegant structure released the countless locks within it and slowly slid down into the floor, revealing what looked like a hospital room. The group hurriedly entered and helped set Finn's body down on a nearby bed. Solara and Ferrum remained by the door, not wanting to be in the way.

"Every cycle we re-design this chamber. It must be able to accommodate any species."

Index hovered over to a nearby console and activated it. Various machines rose from the floor surrounding Finn's bed. A mechanical arm quickly checked his heart rate and breathing. A second arm produced an IV container and slid a needle into Finn's right arm. A third removed his pack and hat, placing them on the floor then readjusting the human's body comfortably on the mattress and pillow.

The group went to his side and looked upon his hurting form. They hated being helpless to stop the pain their friend was experiencing. Index floated over and levitated a medical kit to Bubblegum, who quickly went to work diagnosing her dear friend. A scanner was run across his heart and then a stethoscope to listen to the beats of his organ.

PB grew more and more worried. A holographic screen popped up on her scanner. She dragged the data to her right and brought up several more statistics from her own holo-prism, carefully searching through information. The princess took several minutes before looking away from the screens and to Jake and FP.

"The infection…has been accelerated."

The dog and elemental put their hands to their mouths as they gasped. The flame ruler looked sadly at Finn's struggling expression.

"Finn, I'm so sorry."

PB's face turned to a glare.

"What were you thinking? I warned you about going near each other! Was it not enough for you to see him act like a madman that night?"

Flame Princess took a step back, shocked by the true statement. Jake, Ferrum, and Solara looked on with astonishment. Peebles didn't let up.

"Do you have any idea how irresponsible your actions were? How can you trust yourself to run a kingdom when you can't even sacrifice your minor flecks of uncertainty for the one you love!?"

The candy monarch was red faced at this point. Her breath was irregular. Jake suddenly stepped in front of the stunned and ashamed Flame Princess.

"Back off Bubblegum! You know very well what's happened to these two. They both took heavy risks when they were brought together and now look, they were happy, and they will be again once we yank this crud out of my bro."

The gummy ruler attempted to respond but the dog cut her off with a stretched out hand.

"They've had the whole universe against them from the start. Someone like you can't understand that! You've just lived for centuries, building up your little Candy Kingdom and tinkering in a lab, then you got Finn to do all the dirty work. What could you know about the strength of love?"

Bonnibel recoiled; her face dropped its aggression. A few seconds later, her eyes watered up and she covered her face with her hands, beginning to sob into them. Jake snapped out of his anger and looked upon what he had done. His expression turned to dread.

"Oh Grod, what did I just…"

The magical dog backed up a ways and stared remorsefully at the ground. His own emotions had just sunk him to a new low. It was a terrible feeling and he wished he could take it all back.

Meanwhile, Peebles was continuing her sobbing. The candy ruler had been brought to her knees at this point, lost in hurtfulness. Before she went on much longer, she felt two warm arms being wrapped around her. Shooting open her gaze, the woman was shocked to see Flame Princess giving her a comforting embrace. The pink lady's tears stopped, now focused on the action of the fire elemental.

FP spoke from over the monarch's shoulder.

"That's not true PB. You've shown great love for both your people and your friends. I was wrong to be so impulsive as to risk Finn's health. Perhaps it's not such a bad thing to want to be as organized and cool headed as you."

Flame Princess leaned away and gave the candy ruler a small smile.

"I promise to make up for my mistake. I'll keep Finn safe just like he did for me, just how all of you have done for him before, all these years."

Peebles just stared into the girl's hopeful expression for a few moments. Eventually, she brought the fiery princess in for another hug and let out a few more tears.

"That meant, so much, FP. Thank you."

They moved away from each other and managed to both smile at the other. A figure soon approached them.

"PB," Jake began, still felling awful for his outburst.

"Could you ever forgive me for what I said? I swear I didn't mean it. I just, I care about my brother so much. I want him to be happy. But I guess I was too blind to see that ignoring the danger wasn't going to make it go away."

He took the monarch's hand in his. His face further stated his apology: humble and pleading. Bubblegum looked at the dog for a minute before placing her free hand on top of the one holding her other. An endearing smile grew on her.

"I understand Jake. It's only natural for you to be so protective of your sibling. After all, he's all the family you've got left after your long gone brother."

Jake nodded solemnly. PB moved her hand to the canine's head and rubbed his fur.

"I forgive you my friend. We've all been stressed by this horrible event."

The three individuals stood up and walked looked to Finn, still lying in a fit on his bed. FP walked over and placed her hand over his chest. His heart beat was erratic. Her fingers glided over to the young man's necklace, glimmering as always from the surrounding heat. However, white fire was also being reflected.

The fiery girl turned to see Solara standing next to her, gazing at the suffering human.

"May Infinity watch over him."

Flame Princess looked back to Finn and nodded. She reached into her pocket and replaced her ring on her finger. Then she began messing with her bracelet. It was truly beautiful, perfectly symbolizing Finn's love for her.

"He made it himself you know."

Ferrum had joined the two ladies by Finn's side. PB now stood at the foot of the bed, also looking sadly at the human. FP turned to face the alchemist.

"He found that emerald in a mine we went through. Then he used alchemy to reshape that stone that you two had into the bracelet."

Flame Princess now examined the jewelry with greater intrigue. The gift was so unique and imbued with caring and togetherness that she couldn't help but smile. She placed her hand on Finn's.

"Thank you so much Finn. I love it."

The fiery girl slipped off the item for a moment and twirled it around her fingers. It was then that she spotted the original heart she had carved into the rock. Tears were starting to form again.

_He thought of everything, just for me. _

Regrettably, Princess Bubblegum cleared her throat.

"Finn will be alright for now guys. We have to get back to the central chamber. There's still the matter with the nightosphere."

Everyone looked to the monarch then slowly nodded. Jake, Ferrum, Index, Solara, and PB made their way to the door. Flame Princess gave her fiancé one last kiss in his cheek before joining her friends.

* * *

Sentin looked to the corridor as he heard them approaching. After a moment, the group that had escorted Finn rejoined in the central chamber. Marceline floated over to the two princesses. Concern was on her face.

"How is he doing?"

PB looked at her friend with a relieving smile.

"He'll be fine for now Marcy. We have time to deal with it later."

She walked past the vampire and started pressing buttons on the orb's holo-consoles.

"Right now, we have to figure out the anomaly in the nightosphere."

Ferrum approached the map and looked at the flashing dot.

"What is it exactly?"

Peebles expanded the blip, revealing a portal.

"A space-time rift, just like the one Astrum tore open in the Fire Kingdom."

FP clenched her fists. The candy ruler continued.

"No one has entered it yet but nothing has come out either. Marceline's father has set up a perimeter around the entrance to where the portal is located: at the bottom of a deep pit."

Sentin took a step forward.

"It's not a very ideal location to strike from."

PB nodded.

"Exactly, we need to investigate and find out why he would place the rift in such an awkward area."

PB turned to the group.

"Is everyone ready? We'll need all our strength to not just be prepared for anything but also stand the harsh environment of the nightosphere."

Everyone nodded, except Ice King.

"Aw man, that heat's gonna kill me. And I won't even be able to use my ice that well"

Peebles groaned.

"You're lucky we can't get Finn in here to kick your butt. Now stop whining and get ready to go."

Old man shut his mouth as Marcy began drawing a creepy face on the floor and pulled out a carton of bug milk. Index scoffed.

"It's for the best. Human ignorance is more dangerous than anything Astrum could throw at you."

The young man's friends glared at the robot, clearly offended that the archivist had insulted their companion. Before anyone could react, a massive fireball slammed into the hovering being, smashing him against the wall as everyone gasped. The precursor fell to the ground. Several of his arms were broken.

Before the injured archivist could get up, Flame Princess walked up and smacked the robotic sphere back to the ground with her foot. Index struggled but couldn't free himself.

"Flame Princess! What are you doing!?"

Bubblegum's astonished question mirrored the thoughts of everyone in the room who was staring at the fiery girl. She simply glared at the entity beneath her foot.

"You're going to tell me right now what your problem is with Finn! I'm tired of you precursors dodging everyone's questions, including mine. Now spill it or I swear I'm crush you where you lay!"

Sentin and Solara were horrified by the girl's actions and words. The Ancestral Flame took a step toward the princess.

"Flame Princess, get off of him!"

As FP tunred to shoot daggers at the angelic woman, she suddenly felt her weight shift. Looking down, she saw that she was being lifted off the ground. Next to her, Index had risen back into the air as well. His pixelated face showed deep anger.

"Do not toy with me, fire elemental! I do not have to answer to the likes of outsiders!"

With that, the archivist telekinetically threw the flaming girl into the opposite side of the room. She shouted in pain as her back cracked the section of golden wall and her body fell to the ground. Everyone gasped again, but this time the other two precursors stormed up to Index.

"Have you completely lost it!" Sentin scowled.

It was difficult to picture Solara angry, until now.

"How could you fight back like that? We never harm those who visit the temple on good intentions!"

Index turned his fury on his closest friends.

"Try saying that after losing **your **entire body!"

The mechanical keeper turned and shot himself forward through a corridor, disappearing in a flash. Sentin and solara stared down the hall in shock. Marcy and Ferrum meanwhile, had gone over to help FP recover. The fiery girl seemed to be alright but just to make sure, the alchemist performed a Harmonic Catalyst to ensure the princess was uninjured. As the young queen was walked over to the center of the room by her two friends, PB asked if she was feeling ok. The fire elemental nodded and the gummy lady turned to the pair of precursors.

"What did he mean by that? What happened to him?"

Solara looked to her old friend. The guardian nodded, choosing to explain himself. Sentin sat down on a nearby console, being tall enough to use it as a seat. The Ooocians gathered around as the precursor sighed and twiddled his staff.

"Index resided in the Citadel long before I ever came. He was dedicated fully to preserving the knowledge and artifacts buried within the fortress. When I first met him, he was the most defensive person I'd ever met."

The man shifted in his seat.

"Sadly, the form you see him in now, is not his own."

Several of the gathered audience grew astonished faces.

"Nearly two-thousand years ago, the Citadel was visited by an entire platoon of humans, covered in metal plating and carrying large swords and decorated shields. They were respectful, honorable, and were very courageous in completing the trials I gave them. I had no reason to think they were untrustworthy and so I allowed them inside the temple."

The guardian's expression was gradually growing more somber.

"I was wrong. The orb sensed their true intentions and alerted myself and Index. We reacted as quickly as possible, defending the artifacts within the fortress as the humans attempted to raid the building for anything they deemed a treasure. Unfortunately, they took the first strike right from the beginning. Their leader cut Index down right in front of me. I was unable to move for a brief moment, until my arms finally decided to command my weapon and force the threat back."

Sentin had a tear in his eye.

"With the combined efforts of me and the Citadel's defenses, we drove the remaining humans out of the temple, but not before they stole two dangerous items: the text you all knew as the Enchiridion and the crown that sits upon Simon's head."

Everyone's eyes shot open at the discovery. Ice King took off his golden headpiece and looked at it with curiosity.

"My crown, came from here?"

Sentin nodded.

"It was deemed too dangerous of an item to be freely roaming the multiverse, and so Solara retrieved it from an earlier cycle and place it in the Citadel's vault. It was to remain there for all time, until we could finally pacify the chaotic force within it."

The old wizard sadly sighed, placing the crown back on his bald head.

"I wonder if I could've gotten a wife by now if I never had this thing."

Marceline placed a hand on the elder's shoulder, her face in remorse.

"You have no idea Simon."

The guardian continued his tale.

"As I rushed back to Index's aid, I found him close to death, having lost most of his blood and his consciousness quickly fading. It was at that moment that I used my desire, begging the Citadel to save his life. The orb answered my plea and constructed a new form to contain his mind, the only part of him that was still functional."

The man was fully crying at this point. Solara sat down next to him and placed a hand on his thigh, hoping to comfort her friend. The rest of the group was silent, feeling immense pity for the poor archivist.

* * *

Flame Princess was the last to touch down onto the heated surface of the Nightosphere after exiting the portal, gazing in awe at the forsaken wasteland of fires and jagged peaks. The place practically seeped chaos, bathing the land in evil and cruelty. The very ground would torture anyone not careful enough to watch where they're going. As the friends regrouped, Marceline hovered over everyone.

"Alright guys, stay close and try not to touch anything. My dad is this way."

The vampire motioned for her companions to follow as she flew in the direction of a nearby crevice. Walking through the opening revealing a further depth of the cursed landscape. There was a massive impression in the ground that went down by stories, each one awaiting a new level of pain or punishment.

In the very center of the mass, standing next to a large pit that went down for who knows how far, was a giant demonic being, wearing a business suit. He was quite busy, knocking and kicking aside what appeared to be relentless hordes of demons that were trying to go down the pit.

Marceline called back to the gang.

"Hurry up weenies, looks like he could use some help."

The crew acknowledged the statement and picked up the pace. The Vampire Queen was the first to reach her old man, swatting aside a flying demon the Lord of Evil had missed. Hunson noticed the strike and turned to see his daughter. Although hard to tell with his current monstrous form, he appeared to smile.

"Marceline! Glad you could make it."

The floating girl rolled her eyes and smacked away more demons.

"Yeah, yeah, just tell us what's happening."

The rest of the group had arrived. FP, Ice King, and Solara began blasting flyers out of the sky while PB got on top of a huge Jake, who was beginning to grow extra limbs to fend of the hordes of creatures. The bubblegum princess pulled out a familiar weapon: her Ball Blam Burglerber. With steady aim, she began blasting away large groups of creatures, causing them to be thrown aside like toothpicks. Ferrum was busy transmuting the ground into massive spikes to discourage the charging horrors.

The Lord of Evil found a break in fighting with the help of the reinforcements and explained to his daughter.

"All these idiots are being drawn to the rift at the bottom of the pit. The attraction is incredible, no matter how many times I beat the stuff out of them they keep on trying to get to it."

Marceline smashed another flier in the face.

"But why, what's so special about that thing?"

Hunson bashed a large pink demon that looked half completed in the face. It fell back, crushing a good deal of its comrades in the process.

"The portal radiates an amazing amount of chaos. Everyone in the dimension can sense it. I found myself drawn to it first, that's how I ended up fighting off these fools."

The raven haired girl grunted.

"So how do we stop them from coming?"

The Lord of Evil grinned.

"Well, if we could saturate the pit with something like virtue and goodness that might work. Is that little hero of yours here? We could just suck his soul out and smear it on the walls. That'll do the trick."

Marceline glared at her father.

"You're not killing my friends, dad, and Finn's not here. He's already dealing with some other evil issues."

The sharply dressed man smiled a bit as he slapped aside more of his mindless minions.

"Oooo, really? Maybe if he gave it a chance you'd have a successful boyfriend."

The vampire blushed then angrily smacked her old man in the head. Her made a quick yell of pain and rubbed his massive demonic forehead.

"Not funny dad! He's slowly dying! And besides, he's engaged!"

The Lord of Evil shrugged and returned to the fight.

"Whatever you say sweety, but soon enough you've got to find a man for yourself."

The girl rolled her eyes again and continued holding off the demons trying to reach the well. She noticed the ground forces were pushing Ferrum back, the alchemist being unable to hold off anymore monsters with the massive wall he had created. The girl flew down to help him out, transforming into her giant bat form. Swatting dozens of the creatures proved effective.

Solara joined the group a moment later. She offered her hand to Ferrum, who nodded, understanding the idea. He took hold of the precursor's grip and let out a deep breath.

"Violent Catalyst!"

With the unique and near limitless power within the Ancestral Flame, the reaction sent a devastating shockwave through the battlefield, splitting the ground into pieces and causing the hordes to tumble down into the depths of the Nightosphere. The range of the blast took out nearly half a mile, dragging down a good portion of the landscape.

Hunson looked at the site then to the fire elemental.

"Love the trick but could you try not to bring down the whole realm?"

The blacksmith grunted. Marcy floated over to him as they now had a break in the combat, turning back to her normal form.

"My dad said that the 'stink' or whatever of virtue could cover up the scent of chaos coming from the pit. Any ideas?"

The rest of the group were close enough to hear and joined the gang in thought. Solara suddenly brightened.

"I've got it! Flame Princess, could you come here for a second?"

The fiery girl walked up to the entity with a confused expression. Without a second to spare, the precursor place her hand above FP's heart and began to use her flames to drain something out of the elemental's body.

"Could you go ahead and think about Finn for me?"

The princess blushed, but decided not to question the angelic woman. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine scenery with her and Finn in it. What she came up with was their wedding, elegantly decorated and held in the beautiful Fire Kingdom temple. Her flames brightened as she thought of herself being led down the aisle toward her smiling man.

Solara grinned.

"Ha! Now you're doing it. Although I would've picked different colored banners."

FP looked at the woman with irritation. She just chuckled.

"Kidding. Besides, I've got it."

The precursor held up a small ball of flame in her hands. It was purely red. Ferrum knew what it was and instantly came to a realization.

_The second energy flow! Finn got it from Flame Princess! Although, it still doesn't explain how he did it._

His internal monologue was interrupted as Solara held out the fire to him. The alchemist accepted the energy and looked to the lady. She nodded. The man understood and returned the gesture. He walked over to the edge of the pit and took in a deep breath. Afterwards, he held the flame in both hands and began the reaction.

"Essence Catalyst."

The fire disappeared, sucked into his body to make use of the conduit. A moment later, a glowing orb of energy appeared in his palm. Ferrum leaned over and simply dropped the object down the hole. He stepped back, motioning for the others to do so as well. A minute later, a massive explosion resonated from the pit. Massive clouds of strange fog emanated from the gap, bathing the area on a reddish haze.

After coughing for a few moments, Jake managed to grow his ears to massive proportions and blow away the strange dust. The pit remained undamaged. As the explosion settled, the gang noticed the demons were approaching once more. Everyone brandished their weapons, prepared for round two.

However, something remarkable happened. The creatures looked around, sniffed the air a bit, shuddered, then immediately turned back, vacating the impression in the ground. The group was amazed. Hunson morphed back into his humanoid form, straightening his tie. He then walked over to Marceline.

He smiled hopefully and the girl shrugged, giving her father a quick embrace. After separating, the Lord of Evil set his sights on Ferrum.

"Whooo! That is some stink! What exactly did you do?"

The blacksmith grinned along with Solara.

"Oh, we just extracted some of Finn's essence from Flame Princess's heart and smoke bombed the pit with it."

The gang was impressed, giving the two pats on the back. Hunson walked up to the fire elemental.

"Excellent. I'll have fun punishing those morons later. Just, make sure you get rid of that 'righteous' stank before you leave. It's worse than my toilet after mother comes over for bean burrito night."

Marceline smacked her face, embarrassed. Jake began to laugh, but instantly stopped when the vampire began morphing her face into a demonic form. Princess Bubblegum walked to the edge of the pit and kneeled down with a scanner.

"Hm, the rift's status still hasn't changed. Marceline, could you get me down there?"

The floating girl accepted and took Peebles by her arms, carefully flying the princess down the large hole. The rest of the gang followed, including Hunson. As they descended down he chasm, FP had a satisfied grin on her face. Everyone wondered what had brought the expression so Jake finally asked.

"Hey FP, what's with the smile?"

The fiery girl looked at the dog and chuckled a bit.

"I guess I'm just happy that even though Finn's not here, he was able to help."

The rest of the gang realized what she meant and smiled too.

"Oh yeah. Haha, my bro is unstoppable!"

After a few more minutes, the crowd finally reached the floor of the pit, touching down gently to the heated surface. PB set her eyes on the rift, which appeared as a tore open gash in the fabric of time-space, just like the one in the Fire Kingdom.

"Astrum definitely made this, its particles match the first one."

The crew frowned, wondering where the insane precursor was and why he had just left a portal open. Solara had a more worried thought.

"He isn't careless, I can tell you that much. Something is being put into motion here."

PB returned to scanning the rift.

"Well, I guess the only thing we can do is wait.

* * *

Unfortunately, waiting was a killer, especially in a gob damned place such as the Nightosphere. The Lord of Evil had left a while ago, off to perform the duties of ruling the nightmarish realm, which of course, consisted entirely of tormenting the citizens. For hours the group spent time playing whatever dumb games they could come up with in the pit. Jake eventually got tired of playing charades with his stretchy powers, FP got bored of drawing on the stone walls with concentrated flames, and Marceline had played all her songs three times.

"Man, this suuuccckksss…"

PB scowled at the yellow dog not lying on the floor.

"You know Jake, this is actually pretty important. Besides, don't you usually just take a nap?"

The canine looked to the princess.

"Are you crazy? I'd never fall asleep in this place. I'd be too scared to wake up in pieces, or soulless, or in a cage filled with bananas."

Peebles raised an eyebrow at the last part but shook it off and returned to her scanners. Flame Princes walked up to her and sat down on the ground.

"Hey PB, I just wanted to ask. Did you figure out anything about Finn?"

The candy monarch sighed.

"Nothing that would help us remove that evil. But I did learn something interesting."

FP looked intrigued so the pink lady continued.

"Apparently, Finn's internal temperature has risen to a degree where combustion is no longer a problem for his body's organ, immune, and nerve systems, causing his thermal exchange to shift between excessive highs and lows based on his mood or rate of activity."

Flame Princess was utterly lost. PB remembered she was the only scientist in the group.

"It's like he has his own elemental matrix."

This made much more sense, or rather, less.

"How is that possible?"

Bonnibel was genuinely happy to talk science with the girl.

"I've had a theory that the Citadel's power is limited to some sort of advanced technology rather than total omnipotence, or, all powerful. I believe that the orb simply re-coded Finn's DNA somehow. I was looking for any clues with the sample I took from him but this whole Nightosphere issue has kept me out of the labs for a while."

All of this was well beyond FP's point of interest. Her man could hold her and kiss her, that's all that mattered. As PB continued with her scans, the girl stood up and took a few steps toward the portal. It was slim, barely wide enough for a person to step through. Somehow, she felt drawn toward it. A few more steps and she could feel a strange presence on the other side. Her curiosity peaked with a few more steps, as she could swear the presence was familiar.

Princess Bubblegum suddenly held wide eyes.

"Guys! Something's coming!"

Everyone readied themselves and looked to the portal, which Flame Princess was standing directly in front of.

"FP, get away from that thing!"

Peebles order didn't sink in and the fiery girl reached her hand up and brought it toward the rift. Before she could touch it though, an entire arm flew out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her. The elemental gasped and recoiled, releasing the grip on her arm. The gang approached closer to the portal and took FP further from it.

The arm had a metal gauntlet on its hand, and appeared flesh colored. Soon enough, an entire figure stepped out. Everyone in the pit was astonished. It was Finn. The being was of the right age, height, appearance, and all other characteristics. Although, one difference was found in his left hand.

The young man was holding a sword that looked exactly like Finn's demon blood sword except that instead of a crimson red, it was the purest shade of white. The Finn slung the weapon over his shoulder as he examined the group before him. His face was stoic.

"Fi-Finn?"

Flame Princess tried to approach the human but was held back by Marceline. The vampire was twitching her nose.

"That's not Finn. At least, not **our **Finn."

The new arrival stared at the pale floating girl and narrowed his eyes.

"Mind telling me if I'm in the right place?"

The raven haired teen was confused but remained on guard.

"Uh, you mean the Nightosphere?"

The human lightened up, giving a wide grin.

"Great! I was hoping there would be some interesting targets here and I already see a whole room full of them."

The group glared at the being. He was now clearly, not the same hero they knew. The false Finn stepped further out of the portal and grinned more, sliding his sword off of his shoulders and holding it with two hands. The crowd of friends raised their weapons.

"Of course, I'll have to compete with the rest…"

Everyone was again confused. Before they could question though, a second Finn stepped out of the portal, similar to the first but with a scar along his left face that cut through his eye. This one also smiled, maliciously.

"I call taking out the fire girl, she's probably way less evil and classy than **my** girlfriend."

FP scowled at the Finn. A third stepped out.

"No calls you bum! It's whoever's sword delivers the kill."

The gang grew nervous as more and more Finns emerged from the rift. Eventually, they were forced to back up against the wall, then finally take off and head for the surface. The Finns grasped the walls of the chasm with one arm and used their white blades to pierce the rock to climb up the pit.

The whole situation was becoming quite frightening. A seemingly endless army of combat experienced humans were climbing their way up the hole, determined to slay anything in their path. The whole group looked very nervous. Many of them had lost fights against a single Finn. How would they deal with an army of ruthless and non-restrained ones?

Below, more alternate humans poured out of the rift. Another, and another, and another, and still another…

* * *

_**Well, the pressures of 1st quarter are over. To celebrate, a new entry for Archives of Ooo will be waiting for you guys tomorrow night.**_

_**I'll take another moment to mention SCIK1012. If you're reading this fic, that means you like Flinn, and if you like Flinn it would be very hard for me to believe you don't know this amazing writer. I don't even have to say a specific title. Just go to her page, pick something, and be blown out of your mind by the epicness that is Finn and Flame Princess. (Thank her for the existence of this story while you're at it.)**_

_**Anyways, hope you enjoyed and please review! **_

_**next:**_Chapter 21: Flood Control


	21. Chapter 21: Flood Control

Chapter 21: Flood Control

Some things are just too unpleasant to even talk about. Others are just plain nuts. And still others will make you feel like all of the Nightosphere broke loose. This was one of those situations, both figuratively and ironically.

The gang from Ooo flew high into the hellish atmosphere of the vile realm, observing as an unending flow of Finns from alternate universes climbed out of the pit. The humans were all equipped with angel blood swords, their brilliant white shapes contrasting heavily with the dark surface of the Nightosphere. Everyone was still in shock, unable to work up a plan as to how this threat could be dealt with.

Marceline was carrying Jake, Solara Ferrum, and FP Bubblegum. The group touched down on a ledge suspended far above the pit and continued to watch. They suddenly noticed various demons crawling back onto the impression. Apparently the evil alternates had swept away the repellant Ferrum had placed on the site. The creatures stared angrily at the approaching horde of humans, not wanting anything it their way of the sweet chaos emanating from the portal.

The Vampire Queen looked worried.

"Those idiots, not only can they not match Finn's fighting skills, but those swords will tear through them like nothing."

Although the inhabitants of the Nightosphere were chaotic, they were hardly evil, mostly since Abadeer gave them a daily reminder of who the true evil one was. For the most part they were just mindless monsters with nothing to do but crave more madness. It was for this reason that everyone felt pity for them as they charged toward their deaths at the hands of the Finns.

The friends turned their heads away as the first screams filled the air, indicating the contact between the two groups. No bites, or roars, or even stomps were heard, only slashes, lots and lots of slashes. Most of the gang scrunched up their faces, unable to force out the images their minds were drawing. Eventually, Marcy motioned for everyone to follow her away from the killing-grounds.

The echoes of slaughter slowly faded as everyone headed toward Hunson's castle, which lay perched on a high cliff surrounded by fire. No one spoke, either too scared of what they had seen, or knowing they would eventually have to face it. Jake finally broke the tension.

"Anyone got any ideas?"

PB held her head in her arm while she walked, deep in thought, doing her science thing. However, no output was received from the candy princess. She shook her head, unsure of what to do. Ferrum responded the same way, as did Solara, IK, and FP. Interrupting their sullen mood was the sound of approaching footsteps, **many** approaching footsteps. Nervously, the group turned around to see what was tailing them.

With a large amount of dread, they witnessed a mob of Finns heading straight for them, swords drawn and eyes filled with bloodlust. Everyone's eyes went wide. Jake suddenly grew to massive proportions and snatched up most of his friends onto his back. For obvious reasons, Ferrum was given a lift by Solara. Flame Princess also shot into the air. Marceline began to join her companions in retreat, but then looked back to the Finns, a glare growing on her face.

The others saw the vampire readying her ax bass. PB yelled to the girl.

"Marcy, what are you doing!?"

The floating teenager didn't answer, but mumbled under her breath.

"There's no way these guys are as good as Finn, I should be able to cut them down to size."

Ignoring the pleas from her friends, Marceline flew straight at the gang of alternate humans. One of them raised his sword as the vampire readied a strike from her own weapon. The two objects clashed, earning a satisfied grin from the gray-skinned bassist. The impact had thrown the Finn back rather than her.

"I knew you weenies couldn't be as good as ours!"

Before the gloat could continue, she was punched straight in the jaw by her opponent. He then kicked the vampire back and repositioned his sword to charge at her with the intention of impaling the girl. Marcy was too disoriented to stop the blade. Fortunately, a shot of fire blasted the villain away. FP appeared next to her bruised friend.

"What were you thinking? You can't just take them head on!"

Marcy wiped the blood from her lips.

"Maybe when the odds are fairly balanced, but how about when I get serious."

The vampire then proceeded to morph into a large demonic being with wings and an odd shaped head. Her appendages had turned to hooves and as she spoke, her voice was incredibly low and horrific.

"Bring it on you chumps!"

The Finn that had attacked earlier now had six more flanking him. The assembled squad then sprang into the air swords raised, ready to slice the Vampire Queen down. Marcy succeeded in smashing several of them away while FP blasted the rest. All seven of them fell to the ground groaning.

The others began to lighten up, believing they stood a chance against the hordes. Sadly, their morale was crippled once more as the Finns rose once again. Jake began to shake slightly.

"Oh crud! They've got Finn's pain and burn tolerance!"

Marceline angrily charged again at the enemies. This time however, they quickly dodged and surrounded the demonic form on all sides. With a devious tactic, they all jumped into the air again, leaving no openings for the girl to slip through, at least not while a huge monster. Panicking, she shrunk back to her humanoid form and slid to the right, causing seven white blades to sink into the ground where her head would have been.

Two Finns immediately drew their weapons back and swung them around to Marcy, who barely had the speed to block the angel blood with her ax. Before the others had ganged up on the queen as well, a large fire blast threw them all aside. FP ran to the vampire to make sure she was alright.

She stated she was fine and raised her bass, preparing for the returning Finns. Flame Princess produced her own fire sword from her hand and covered Marcy's back. The seven humans circled around, waiting for an opening. The fact that all their attention was focused on just the two girls proved a definite mistake.

Two of the Finns were struck with flaming spears, straight through their chests. Instead of simply dying, their bodies were incinerated. Solara was behind them as their forms lay in ashes. Another Finn was knocked back by a massive yellow fist and smashed into a wall. Jake triumphantly shouted out, only to then howl in pain as he retracted his hand. It had a bad stab wound in it.

The crushed Finn had rapidly recovered, now having his sword tip covered in Jake's blood. The human charged back at the dog, who hastily retreated when he remembered this Finn would not pull any punches while fighting. Using his powers, he wrapped his injured paw and fled to a high cliff. Unfortunately, his foe followed him up. Now outright scared, Jake cowered on the ground, waiting for the end.

Luckily, the Finn was slammed on both sides by large sheets of rock. Nearby, Ferrum had unleashed a reaction to encase the evil human in stone. With no way to breathe or recover, the alternate perished in his prison. The fire elemental checked on his friend.

"Jake, are you alright?"

The magical canine had a remorseful look on his face.

"I know they aren't really my bro, and evil, but, it still messes me up actually trying to kill them."

Ferrum looked around at the battlefield. Marceline and FP had the same look on their faces as Jake. Solara's looked even worse. Ice King was already useless with his weakened ice, which the Finns could easily shatter, but even the old wizard appeared a bit unnerved fighting the alternate. Ferrum himself was shaken from having to execute the foe that was attacking Jake.

"There has to be another way…"

Flame Princess was busy struggling against the strength of a Finn's sword, which was gradually pushing her to the ground. The being smiled viciously, enjoying how close he was to the kill. Before the fiery girl collapsed under the pressure though, the human was kicked off of her by Princess Bubblegum. The gummy ruler helped pull the elemental off the ground and they both turned to face the last remaining Finn. The figure suddenly pulled out a secondary blade from his pack, preparing for the clash.

PB nodded to her friend and ran toward the young man. With precise grace, she managed to dodge the Finn's swings while jumping over him, landing perfectly on the other side. The human swung around and attempted to trisect the princess, only to meet the metal surface of an extendable staff the monarch had produced from her belt. PB held the position as long as she could, losing strength rapidly.

In the nick of time, FP had followed through with her part of the plan; flame dashing right up to the human and slashing at his back. The Finn screeched in pain as his pack burned to ashes and the fire slowly singed his new wound. Instead of cursing however, the young man seemed to be pacified. He spoke with a weak tone.

"Flame…Princess…it hurt."

He turned his face enough to show the girl several tears. FP instantly dissipated her sword, which she was about to use to cut down the evil alternate. Now instead, she began to rush at the being she had injured, tears gathering in her eyes as well.

"Finn! No, please, I'm sorry! I-"

She was cut off as she felt a sharp pain in her side. Frozen in shock, she managed only to look down at the white blade piercing her abdomen. The Finn had stopped leaking tears, now only displaying the cruelest of smiles. He laughed at the fiery princess fell back from the wound and dropped to the ground, grunting in pain.

"Flame Princess!"

PB attempted to shove the Finn out of the way, but the alternate easily parried her blow with the staff and sliced her midsection. The pink lad gasped as she felt her energy instantly begin drained. The gummy ruler fell to the ground, defeated. FP was losing focus now, but managed to scream as she saw a pool of dark pink liquid begin to leak from the candy woman.

The Finn approached Flame Princess, sword slung on his shoulder, grinning.

"That was just weak. **My** FP would've beheaded the enemy without a second thought."

The vile human raised his blade straight up, intending to let the terrifying weapon drop and sink right into the young queen's heart. FP closed her eyes, both out of despair and from loss of magma in her side. The last thing she heard was a devastating shout, followed by the sound of something being incinerated by strong flames. Then all turned black.

* * *

As consciousness returned to the princess of flames, she immediately tried to sit up and intake a large amount of air. She was stopped by a glowing orange hand, which held her shoulder back and laid her back down. As vision returned to FP's eyes, she saw Ferrum standing before her. His face was both relieved and concerned.

"Oh thank Grob. How do you feel Flame Princess?"

FP allowed herself to be brought back down to a pillow, which provided great comfort to her aching head.

"Some throbbing in my skull, but other than that I think I'm fine. Wait, why can't I feel anything below my chest?"

The fire elemental lowered her eyes to see her abdomen wrapped in several layers of fireproof bandages and then a round of tinfoil. There was still some hardened magma blood sticking out of the wound.

"What happened, where's PB, who else got hurt?"

Panic overtook the young queen as her eyes darted around the room looking for the rest of her friends.

"Where are we?"

This time, Marceline's voice answered.

"We're at my dad's place FP. Don't worry, everyone made it out."

The vampire floated over to the girl's bedside and gave a gentle smile. Ferrum allowed the princess to slowly sit up. The room they were in was filled with pictures of the Lord of Evil himself, some with Marcy, some with various friends of his. The raven haired girl looked around.

"This is the room I use whenever I crash at my old man's. But you needed it a lot more than me."

Flame Princess was still concerned.

"How bad are the others?"

Marceline sighed, lowering herself to actually stand on the floor.

"Bonnie's getting better. She took a bad hit, but luckily Ferrum was able to transmute some fluids for her."

The Vampire Queen sat down on the bed as the alchemist excused himself to check on the rest.

"Jake is stuffing his face in the kitchen. The weenie just got a nasty little cut on his paw. Simon somehow got out without even a scratch, although a good portion of his beard got shaved off. I just got an awesome scar on my arm…"

The vampire showed her battle scar to the bedridden princess, who rolled her eyes at Marcy's tough girl attitude.

"…and as you saw, Ferrum came out with just a few dents in the rocky portion of his body."

FP looked hard into her friend's eyes.

"What about Solara?"

Marceline frowned. She turned her gaze to the nearby window, answering back as she stared at the chaotic weather outside.

"She didn't get much damage. She just instantly healed herself, and you for the most part. She managed to fry that last alternate before it skewered you. But…the whole fight seemed to shake her up…like a lot."

Marcy looked back to FP.

"I know the look she had. I don't think she's…ever killed somebody."

Flame Princess looked horrified. The female precursor was no exception to the uneasy feeling the gang had of taking down the splitting image of their dear friend, no matter how evil they were. The fiery girl suddenly swung her legs to the floor and began to stand up. Marceline attempted to stop her.

"FP, you can't be up yet. You need your rest!"

The fire elemental shook her head.

"No. I have to talk to Solara. Where can I find her?"

The vampire sighed in defeat, motioning for her friend to follow through the door. The two walked in silence as they went down the halls. Passing by the kitchen, they saw Jake gobbling down a sandwich. A bandage was wrapped around his hand, so he simply stretched a third arm to help him hold his food.

Further down, they reached the central chamber, where Abadeer kept a constant portal to Ooo open, just in case. Stepping around the rift, Marcy and FP headed for the balcony on the other side of the room. The vampire stopped a few feet from the opening and gestured for the fire elemental to continue on without her.

Outside on the ledge, Flame Princess saw the angelic precursor leaning on the edge of the wall, sobbing. The girl quietly walked up to the woman and laid a hand softly on her shoulder. Solara slowly turned to look at her visitor, only to swiftly spin around and embrace the new arrival. FP was stunned for a moment, but then returned the comforting hold.

"I'm so sorry dear, I…I've never had to outright eliminate someone before. Disable at the most. And being that that person was the form of Finn, it made it just that much worse."

The young queen patted Solara's back, trying to calm the weeping ancestor.

"It's alright Solara; we all had trouble seeing past the skin. It's awful to admit but, even if we could fight the Finns, we couldn't bare the psychological pain of destroying them all."

The precursor separated from the fiery princess, wiping away the remaining tears. The fire elemental looked out into the blazing landscape of the Nightosphere.

"It was the same for me when Finn and I went through the gates to the Citadel portal. It was nearly impossible for me to fight his younger self. He had to be the one to send the final blow. The only one who could help us with this disaster is Finn, but he's stuck with a terrible evil within him."

A few bits of lava were leaking down the girl's cheek, overcome by the hopelessness of their situation. Solara sighed.

"You and Finn really overcame a lot during those Gates, it's truly unfair to not have him here to help us."

FP's eyes suddenly sprang wide open. She shot her gaze to meet the precursor's.

"That's right! These Finns, they never went through the trials of the three gates!"

Solara grew a confused expression. Marceline had heard FP's excitement and floated over.

"What's going on here?"

Flame Princess grabbed both Solara's and Marcy's hands, pulling them with her as she dashed back into the castle.

"Come on, we've got to get everyone together!"

* * *

The living room was filled to the brim with house guests. Hunson was impatiently leaning against the wall as Ice King, Jake, and Ferrum sat on the couch. Solara was in Hunson's recliner, which the Lord of Evil had been gentlemanly enough to offer. Flame Princess was standing in front of them, waiting for the rest to get there. A minute later, Marceline entered, walking and helping a still recovering Bubblegum walk to a nearby seat.

"Easy Bonnie," the vampire stated as she lowered the monarch into the chair.

PB thanked her friend and turned to face FP, as did Marcy.

"So what is it that you've wanted to say Flame Princess?"

The fiery girl took her own seat nearby.

"I think I know of a way to stop the Finns, without having to…you know."

The gang all looked intrigued.

"Those alternates have one definite thing in common: they never went through the three gates to reach the Citadel. Because of this, it is naturally obvious that none of these Finns conquered their deepest fears."

A few of her friends' faces grew astonished looks, seeing where FP was going with this. PB leaned forward.

"Of course! We can scare the daylights out of them and force them back into the portal!"

Flame Princess nodded happily as the rest of the group chattered intently. Ferrum however, interjected.

"Wait though, the best thing I can think of to send all the alternates running is the ocean, but there's no water in the Nightosphere. How would we accomplish getting a whole body of it in here?"

FP was prepared.

"That's exactly why we're going to ask for some help."

She turned to the Lord of Evil.

"Mr. Abadeer, could you connect that portal to the bottom of the ocean?"

The slickly dressed demon raised his eyebrow.

"First I get an army of crazy humans that are annihilating my slaves, and now you want me to flood the place?"

Marceline floated over to her father.

"Dad, this is serious! If we don't stop them, you won't be safe either. It's your rule or your life. Make a choice."

The man thought hard for a moment, irritated by the options given to him. Finally, he let out a deep breath and shrugged in defeat.

"Fine. Looks like I don't have much of a choice."

Marcy felt grateful. Without a second's warning, she hugged her old man. Hunson was surprised at first, but then smiled and returned the embrace. After stepping back, the demonic ruler straightened his tie.

"Alright, you all better get ready, this'll get really wet, fast."

PB turned to Solara and Ferrum.

We'll need to direct the path of the water; you two's combined power should be enough to create somewhat of an aqueduct in the landscape."

The fiery beings nodded, standing up and walking to the nearby balcony. With a thumbs up to his friends, the alchemist allowed himself to be lifted in the air by the precursor and they flew toward the direction of the pit, awaiting the plan to go in motion.

Marceline went with her dad to open the portal as the rest of the group headed to the top of the building, so as to not be swept away by the coming force. With everyone in position, PB gave the signal for the demon lord to unlock the rift. After a quick chant, Hunson and Marceline made a break for it while the wormhole began to glow.

As father and daughter made it to the spot where the gang was waiting, the castle began to rumble. A moment later, several of the walls blew out, pouring out mass quantities of sea water, which quickly began dousing the roaring flames that surrounded the Lord of Evil's house.

Solara and Ferrum worked fast, combining energy to perform multiple Catalyst reactions to shape the mountains into solid walls and redirect the pounding waves. In the far distance, the horde of Finns could be seen making a march on the castle. They suddenly stopped when they noticed the wall of water rushing to them. At first they just held their heads in the air and sniffed, making the group on the palace a bit nervous.

Surly enough though, after getting a good whiff of the water's origin, each and every one of the alternates' eyes grew enormously wide.

"Oh Glob, the ocean!"

"Run!"

"Get out of my way!"

"Oh jeez! Oh jeez!"

The ocean waves were funneled directly at the impression in the ground, where the pit appeared to still be spilling out more Finns. This event was halted as the hordes began moving back to where they came from. Those that had yet to see the threat were confused, watching all their alternate selves diving back down the hole.

As the ground shook from the oncoming horror, the rest of the horde finally understood as the scent of sea water filled the air. Those too slow to escape the wrath of the ocean were swept away like ants as the waves collapsed and fell down into the impression, filling up the pit in a matter of seconds.

Hundreds of screams could be heard as the Finns freaked the math out, desperately trying to get out of the water, to no avail. Gradually, they were pulled down into the hole, where a whirlpool had formed to drag the evil beings back through the portal at the bottom. The rift itself was being stretched greatly from the sheer force of the liquid, accelerating the speed of the water drain.

From up above, Ferrum and Solara smiled at the scene. Not only had they solved their problem without having to kill more people, but the view itself was actually quite comical. It looked just like bugs getting flushed down the toilet. Satisfied with the effects, the two began the journey back to the remains of Hunson's castle.

The rest of the gang was cheering wildly as the elemental and precursor arrived back at the roof. Ferrum was exhausted, physically strained from all the transmutations he had performed. FP helped him lay down as the Lord of Evil gazed at his ruined realm. He sighed.

"Well, for the good of the multiverse, I guess."

Marcy placed a hand on her father's shoulder.

"You see dad, not all sacrifices are without gain."

The man smiled weakly, trying to grasp his daughter's sense of value.

"And not all humans are saps."

Everyone froze at the new voice. They all turned to see a single Finn, soaking wet, carrying his angel blood sword in his hand. The weapon disturbingly was unable to be recognized as white or red, hinting at what the human had been doing with it. The alternate pointed his weapon at Hunson.

"Now if you don't mind Abadeer, I'll be ripping that body off of your amulet."

Marceline hissed as she stepped in front of her father defensively. The rest of the group tried to gather their own stances, but remembered how exhausted they were from the earlier battle. Solara was the only one who was able to raise her fists with blazing white flames.

The Lord of Evil however, gave a smile of admiration.

"Wow, I like the way this guy thinks!"

"Dad!"

"What? It's my job, give me a break."

The Finn took several steps forward, only for Solara to take her place in front of the Vampire Queen, further protecting the man behind them. Hunson suddenly felt a presence behind him. As he turned around, the unexpected happened.

The Lord of Evil received a devastating slice from his neck down to his lower side. The blow not only severed the Nightosphere Amulet from its chain, but cut off a large piece of the man's tie, which fluttered away in the air. Abadeer's eyes were set in disbelief as his blood began to splash out of his chest. Time moved in slow motion as Marceline screamed for her father while turning around to catch the dismounted man in her arms.

Hunson's business suit disappeared, leaving him in his boxers and sweatshirt, providing little cloth to stop the wound on his body from gushing more fluids. Everyone's attention was now drawn to the horrors of what had just transpired, ignoring the surviving Finn completely. The gang ran to help Marcy tend to her fallen father as she began to sob.

Oddly enough, the man's injury did not begin to heal. Solara moved aside the rest of the group and knelt down to the bleeding Abadeer. She placed her hand over the wound and tried to cauterize it. No effect, Hunson simply flinched from the pain. The precursor's eyes widened.

"This blow…it was dealt on a molecular level."

A sudden warping sound echoed from behind the group, drawing their attention. Solara and Flame Princess's flames spiked wildly at the being before them. Their eyes were filled with nothing but hatred.

Astrum stood there, holding the Nightosphere Amulet in his hand. His hood was still up, hiding his face. The pitch black entity held up the amulet, only to crush the relic into pieces. A terrifying screech filled the air as the source of chaos was destroyed. The dark precursor then levitated a single shard of the remaining gem as the rest turned to ashes and faded into the air.

"Your efforts were fruitless. The alternate humans were just a distraction."

Solara began to charge at the vile being, but the man was too fast. Using his spacial manipulation, he shifted the air molecules to shove Princess Bubblegum toward him. The Ancestral Flame was forced to halt her assault as Astrum held the helpless and injured woman up by her hair.

PB was struggling in pain as the precursor glared at his angelic enemy.

"Make one more move, and her life will end."

The gang all grew expressions of despair. They had thought they had won, they had believed the dark manipulator had failed. Now here they were, at his mercy as Astrum held a hostage. Solara reluctantly lowered her flames, lowering her head in surrender. The time-space bender began to back away. He reached out and swung his hand down as if it were a claw. The result formed a rift behind him.

"One after another, your plans shall fail, and this multiverse will fall to your failures."

Just before the man could discard PB and step through, he was caught off guard by someone nobody could have expected. A swift kick in the head disoriented the precursor, resealing the portal behind him. A second strike severed Peeble's hair, causing the princess to fall, only to be caught and quickly moved within the grasp of a single strong arm.

The Ooocians all gasped in utter shock and astonishment. There before them, holding the candy ruler tightly in one arm, infinity sword in the other, was Finn the Human. The young man proceeded to set the woman down gently on the ground. Ice King and Jake received the lady to help her recover, but their eyes were still glued to the arriving hero. Finn just smiled.

"Missed me guys?"

Everyone was in utter disbelief. Solara spoke first.

"Finn! How did you…"

She was unable to finish the question, but the human pointed to right below his right shoulder, where his Citadel insignia shined through his shirt.

"It's not like you ever turned this off. And besides, there's no way I'd let my friends save the multiverse all by themselves."

Progressively, the faces of his friends grew into smiles of joy. All except for Flame Princess, who was beginning to cry.

"But Finn, your condition."

The young man gave a hearty grin.

"It's fine for now. I worked something out."

The human quickly focused on his heart, which was still burning unnaturally.

"Remember," he whispered. "We're in this one together. That was the deal."

A voice chuckled from within his body.

_Why Finn, you say that as if we were against each other this whole time._

The hero scowled at the evil inside him but shook it off and turned his attention to the main threat. Astrum was recovering from the blow to his temple, holding his head dizzily. Finn stepped forward and opened his hand, revealing the cut off piece of Hunson's red tie.

"I'm not letting this nightmare continue. This ends now."

The dark precursor looked toward the human with (again, just a guess) utter hatred. In a split second, he attempted to strike the young man with kinetic energy. Before his hand could push the molecules however, a blade of fire struck his neck. Astrum backed away as he desperately tried to put out the flames on his cloak. Solara stood beside Finn, as the others looked on from their injured positions.

Giving up, the precursor chose to abandon the garb, grabbing and ripping the smoldering fabric off of his body. As the being's true appearance was revealed, Finn, and everyone else, gasped.

Astrum had average tanned skin, golden blonde hair that reached down to his shoulders, and a menacing glare that showed off his deep ocean-blue eyes. The human was frozen in place, unable to ignore the similarities between his foe and himself. His hands trembled, causing his sword to constantly vibrate in his grip.

"Who…who are you?"

Finn didn't quite know what kind of answer he was expecting, but the fact that the precursor's appearance shocked him so much was enough to scramble his mind. Astrum took a step forward, raising his arm to attack. Before he could though, a blade suddenly pierced his body, forcing him to grunt in pain. Everyone gasped again as the Finn from an alternate dimension retracted his weapon and proceeded to snatch the Shard of Evil from the precursor's hand. He backed away from the group and stood at the edge of the roof, grinning maliciously. Astrum healed his wound with his powers and shot an enraged look at the human.

"What do you think you're doing fool!?"

The alternate Finn laughed.

"You expected cooperation? I'm the one who was planning to use **you**! And with this Shard, my strength will allow me to conquer my world and beyond!"

With a final laugh, the Finn let himself fall back off of the roof. Astrum was too late in trying to grab the human with his kinetic force. He was also too slow to dodge the powerful stream of flames that sent him plummeting off the roof. Solara rushed forward and looked back to Finn.

"Finn, you and I are the only ones able to fight. Go after your alternate self and get that Shard. I'll handle Astrum."

The human took a step forward.

"Why does he look like…"

Solara interrupted.

"I don't know Finn. We'll figure it out later, just go!"

The hero finally reacted, giving a nod to his friends before sprinting and diving off the edge of the roof, following his alternate. Flame Princess placed her hands over her heart.

_May Infinity protect you, Finn._

Solara shot herself into the air, making her way to where Astrum managed to stop himself in midair. Patting off his singed clothing, he stared back at the angelic woman with deep loathing.

"Get out of my way!"

The Ancestral Flame simply ignited her fists, forming strong concentrations of white fire. Her eyes narrowed at the enemy before her.

"If you want to get past, you'll have to take me down first."

The two precursors prepared to clash, taking offensive stances as the audience below anxiously watched, hoping for the best.

* * *

**_Some of you guys have been wondering about Astrum's origins. Well, I've heard your curiosity so get ready to get A LOT more info on this guy, both in COT and upcoming Archives. _**

**_Hope you enjoyed and please review._**

**_next:_ **Chapter 22: Battle for the Third Shard


	22. Chapter 22: Battle for the Third Shard

Chapter 22: Battle for the Third Shard

As a massive chunk of mountain was hurled through the air, a python-like lava whip shattered the object in mid-flight, preventing the colossal rock from crushing the flaming precursor hovering in the sky. She retaliated by summoning three towering magma snakes from her body, which sprang upward before striking down, targeting the dark being below. Unfortunately, he threw several pillars of stone straight into the threats, causing their forms to destabilize before he commanded the air molecules to blow apart their drifting material.

Using the dissipating mass of sparks as cover, Solara shot herself with the speed of a comet through the debris, violently tackling the spacial manipulator who was caught off guard. The woman was confident that the impact would greatly disorient Astrum, making it easy for her to slam him into a nearby cliff face with their momentum. However, moments before the hit, the pitch black precursor teleported out of the fiery entity's grasp, forcing her to immediately ignite several flames from her arms and legs in attempt to slow her inertia.

Sadly, she still crashed into the solid earth; crumbling the structure and making Astrum lose his visibility on his opponent as clouds of dust sprang from the collapsing mountain. He carefully studied the crater that was formed, watching for any sign of movement. In as split second, he was met with an impossibly bright flash, blinding him momentarily. The man teleported rapidly, hoping to keep himself in motion to prevent a sneak attack.

With his sight regained, Astrum halted his jumps and darted his eyes in all directions, trying to get some bearings on his enemy. His next feeling was the sense of a nearby heat source. The precursor was able to prevent his head from being disconnected from his body by quickly ducking to the left. The fiery blade behind him was still able to slice his shoulder however.

Teleporting away, the dark being examined his wound. Silvery blood was dripping from a decent sided opening on his skin. Astrum struggled to heal the wound with his powers as Solara appeared right in front of him. The Ancestral Flame threw up her hands, then viciously brought them down, creating a gigantic arc of white flames that flew down on the space-time bender like a guillotine.

Too distracted to teleport, instinct took over and Astrum blocked the strike head on by gathering together a wall of air molecules, rapidly cycling the particles as they were consumed by the blaze. He couldn't hold it much longer, allowing the scythe of fire to come down on his chest. With an agonizing yell, the precursor was thrown downward by the force of impact as the arc of flames dragged him down to the floor of the Nightosphere.

What could be mistaken for an earthquake struck as the flames pounded into the ground, scattering whatever rock and dirt was in the radius of the blast.

Solara hovered patiently in the air, forming a solid sphere of flames around herself in the event that Astrum attempted to appear behind her. The woman locked a gaze on the destroyed landscape her power had formed, scanning the site for her foe. Before she could react, the protective fires swirling around her suddenly died out. What came next was terrifying.

The fiery precursor began to feel suffocated, as if her oxygen had been cut off. Fortunately, she did not require a constant stream of the element to stay alive. Her incredible matrix held a constant supply of fuel that could sustain her for centuries, but it was then that the Ancestral Flame noticed, this energy was being drained.

Turning around in the air, Solara found Astrum floating a good distance from her. The man was struggling, not only because of his deep wound but also with the act he was performing. Although strong, he was having difficulty keeping every single molecule of matter away from his enemy's radius. The pressure that the isolated space was producing was already making the man sweat profusely. He grinded his teeth, determined to snuff out the mother of fire elementals.

Solara found it harder and harder to breath as her heat was siphoned from her own body. Her sight became hazy and her nerves numbing. Refusing to give in, she began expulsing massive amounts of fire outward, trying to increase the pressure of the empty space by exciting the molecules along the edge of the sphere she was currently trapped within.

Astrum's body began to break under the force that physics were fighting him with. He knew he couldn't hold the matter back much longer; he hadn't yet reached his full strength. Still, the vile precursor held on, focused on eliminating the flaming thorn in his side for good.

Solara noticed her enemy's crippling condition. Deciding on a new tactic, she brought in all her flames, containing them within a small orb in front of her. She worked fast, having begun to lose consciousness, and suddenly unleashed an incredibly hot spear of fire straight forward.

Already buckling, the space barrier snapped under the might of the combustive weapon, shattering Astrum's hold on the vaccum and finally restoring fresh oxygen to Solara's body. As a bonus, the pitch black villain was unable to dodge the path of the spear.

He cried out in pain as the flaming javelin slid right through his abdomen, tearing through his forth-dimensional body like it was nothing. Glimmering blood began pouring out as Astrum desperately covered the opening with his hands, trying to keep his fluids from leaking out.

Too hazed to notice, the precursor failed to see Solara come up behind him with her flame sword raised. A second later, she slashed the foe's face clean across, appearing to instantly kill him. The fiery woman watched as Astrum's bleeding form dropped out of the air and eventually collided with the ground, raising a blast of red dust and dirt.

Solara panted rapidly, already exhausted from her fight. Knowing the problem had been dealt with, she let out a breath and tried to calm herself.

_It's over, he's gone. We'll never have to fear him again._

A grateful smile appeared on the precursor's face. She felt fulfilled, having brought down the greatest threat in existence and avenged her dear friend. The woman closed her eyes and sniffled a little, remembering the one she had lost to the horrid manipulator.

_I've done it my friend. I kept my promise and stopped him._

Solara looked back down to the zone of impact that Astrum's body had produced. The dust was finally settling and revealed the area. The angelic entity gasped, frozen in shock.

The crater was empty.

Shearing pain struck the woman's back, catching her completely off guard. Her eyes trembled in her sockets as magma like blood rained down from the sky. Its source: the large gash on the precursor's backside. She was unable to turn around but knew exactly who had appeared behind her.

"Space is but one of the powers available to me. Now you shall fall, a result of your mistake of underestimating your opponent."

Astrum kicked Solara hard in her head, causing the woman to shoot toward a nearby mountain. As she fell, she finally understood what had transpired:

_Right before the lethal strike to his face, Astrum used temporal manipulation to momentarily break through the time barrier, allowing him to escape Solara's attack and replace his time-shifted body with a fake replica he produced out of the surrounding molecules. The Ancestral Flame only hit a dummy, crafted perfectly to imitate the dark being, complete with the same wounds and blood as the vile precursor himself. Using the time Solara lowered her guard, he had healed his grievous injures and snuck around to take the woman down before she realized the truth._

As Solara plummeted to her demise, her thoughts returned to her most recent memories. Finn and Flame Princess rekindling their destined love, the threat of Astrum's return, the ordeals of the Citadel, defeating the Lich, celebrating the impending marriage of the human and fire elemental. Tears ran out of her eyes, not out of sorrow, but out of joy.

She would leave this world with a grand legacy of assisting the helpless and lost precursors who found themselves wandering the newly born multiverses, including her friend Index. She herself had provided the source of heat to forge the two locks that kept existence in balance. Her very own creations allowed all of the wonderful people she had me to prosper and enjoy the happiness that their hearts provided. It was truly beautiful.

The Ancestral Flame closed her eyes, awaiting her fate. Strangely enough, she felt that it was taking too long to impact the hard stone. Before she could question further, the lady felt a sudden burst of energy from her chest. Opening her gaze, the precursor looked to her collarbone, where her own insignia of the Citadel had been placed long ago.

Astoundingly, the two symbols that formed it were both glowing individually, Infinity beamed blue, while Eternity flashed red. Solara stared in shock.

_My children, they are responding to my danger, wanting to aid their mother._

The two symbols intensified their glow, telling their owner to initiate her final power. Solara understood. It was indeed time to use 'that'. She closed her eyes once more, interlacing her hands as the wind blew her hair wildly on her way to certain death. She breathed calmly, ignoring the burning pain on her back.

A second later, her flames glowed to their full spectrum, bathing the surrounding area in white light. Within the core of the angelic atmosphere, the precursor of fire smiled warmly, synchronizing her heart with the omnipotent wills of the two cosmic locks which she had created with her very own essence.

_When hearts truly link and all doubt and mistrust have been banished, the unwavering standpoint of belief and unity shall dispel all impurity. Come forth and grant me the might to forge a new power. Harmony's Origin._

Astrum watched as a miraculous wave of energy exploded from the center of the large mass of pure white light. He shielded his eyes as the glow blinded his vision. Eventually, even the noise around him disappeared, lost in the impenetrable void of the blank existence around his body.

The dark precursor opened his eyes to see the nightosphere restored to its normal colors, ruined and crumbling from the two precursor's battle. He darted his eyes around to find the form of Solara, hoping that she was lying near death on the ground. It was no further from the opposite.

There she hovered, directly in front of Astrum, he wounds completely healed as a strange energy encircled her hands. The time-space bender growled in disbelief. Instead of questioning the event however, he simply charged at the woman, determined to rip her throat out.

Solara was calmly watching the approaching enemy, not even bothering to evade the attack. Slowly, she raised her hands and began to form the energy in her palms. It took the shape of several floating runes in the air in front of her. She continued to draw the spell out until the energy was all used up. As Astrum grew nearer, she spoke.

"Clustering hearts have created a new force, face its design and be expelled from imbalance."

The Ancestral flame raised her arm, astoundingly, instantly halting Astrum's charge with no backlash force. The pitch black entity was too stunned to recoil. Solara simply finished her spell.

"Cosmic Embargo!"

A mysterious field surrounded both precursors, encasing them in dark red auras that appeared to be removing some form of energy from their bodies. After a few moments of squirming, the auras shattered away, leaving both beings to silently stare at one another. Astrum decided to ignore the phenomenon and resumed his assault on the fiery lady.

He aimed a punch at her face, only for her to sidestep and swing around for a kick to the man's stomach. Astrum attempted to teleport, only to be shocked when nothing happened and is guts were slammed by the Ancestral Flame's leg. The dark being felt blood escape his mouth as he was thrown back.

Regaining his posture and wiping away the fluid from his lips, the man glared at Solara, who floated closer to her foe.

"What…what did you do?!" the vile entity demanded.

The angelic entity simply readied a combat stance as she answered.

"My flames and your manipulation have both been negated. You want to win? You'll have to do it hand-to-hand."

Astrum roared in irritation as he flew at his opponent, seething with anger.

* * *

The gathered friends had gazed in awe at the fight between Solara and Astrum. No one spoke much, too nervous that they would miss an important strike. After the last act the Ancestral Flame had performed however, the gang could finally relax a bit, knowing that nothing insane would occur as the two precursors fought it out in close-combat.

Marceline had periodically checked on her father, who was still bleeding quite badly. His grey skin was continuing to evaporate, preventing the immortal from healing himself. The man's daughter was still releasing the occasional tear.

"Dad, hang on, we'll find some way to help."

Princess Bubblegum was lying down nearby, watched over by Jake as the loyal dog spectated both her recovery and the battle above. The pink lady was gazing with concern at her vampire friend, wishing she had an idea. However, it was only after Solara's cancellation act that the brilliant thinker realized the obvious.

"Marceline! The Citadel!"

Everyone looked to the gummy ruler, confused at first. Progressively, their eyes widened and they turned their attention to the raven-haired girl. Marcy stared at PB with astonishment, disbelieving that she herself had not thought of it.

"Oh Glob! That's it!"

The Vampire queen looked back to her father.

"Dad, can you hear me?"

Her concern lightened as the Lord of Evil smiled weakly.

"Yes sweety, I'm here."

Marceline began to cradle her old man closer to her chest, reaching up with one hand to activate the insignia on the left side of her neck.

"I'm gonna take you to the Citadel of Truth. It's the only place we can get help. I won't lose you, you're all the family I've got left."

The demonic father grinned with amusement.

"Huh. The Citadel you say? Lovely place. Wish my house was half as amazing as that fortress."

As Marcy's insignia began to dissipate her and her dad, she looked at him with bewilderment.

"Wait, what!? How do you know about it!?"

Hunson just laughed as he and his daughter disappeared from the roof of the palace.

The others felt relived, knowing their friend's father would be safe as long as Marceline wanted nothing more than for him to survive. Meanwhile, they resumed their watch on the fight above. Astrum and Solara were in full focus, each trying to counter and parry the attacks of the other, hoping to land a punch or kick to their enemy.

Flame Princess placed he hands on her chest and gazed out over the side of the palace, wishing she could see her man as he pursued the shard thief through the wastelands.

_Finn. I don't care if we get it back or not. Just don't die. Come back to me._

* * *

The human ran in a full sprint as he dodged various jagged rocks sticking out of the ground. He managed to cut his legs on several of them as he went but paid little attention to the injures. His quarry was still quite a ways ahead of him, bounding across the surface of the hellish realm, desperately attempting to reach the portal at the bottom of the pit.

Finn picked up the pace, forming the idea to use his infinity sword to cleave the dangerous rocks out of his way to clear a path. The plan was working, allowing him to close the distance between himself and his evil alternate. As the impression came up, the hero saw the villainous twin jump down to the next lower level of the sunken ground.

The young man followed, giving a giant leap to gain some ground on the enemy. The impact of hitting the ground caused him to groan, making the alternate finally notice him. The dark Finn accelerated his pace, making a dash for the next edge to lead him further down the impression.

The true hero came up with another idea and swung his sword in the twin's direction, unleashing a temporal wave at the small cliff. The evil human managed to dodge the incoming blast and jumped to a lower level. What he did not know, was that the strike wasn't Finn's actual plan.

A second later, the young man used his incredible agility to hop off several of the temporally suspended sections of rock he blasted off the cliff and used them to launch himself at high speed toward the alternate. This time, the dark Finn didn't have time to react, soon enough being violently tackled by the hero.

Both humans tumbled down the impression, sliding off of multiple ledges before entering free-fall at the edge of the pit. As they fell in basically zero gravity, they engaged in an awkward hand-to-hand fight, which only resulted in pushing each other toward the walls of the pit. They used their weapons to slice into the rock and prevent themselves from being scrapped painfully against the jagged walls of the hole.

As hundreds of sparks filled the air, the two glared at each other from opposite sides of the chasm. Eventually though, the bottom came within sight, as did the portal. The dark alternate looked from the rift to Finn and back again, eager to ditch his pursuer and return to his own dimension to use the Shard of Evil for his own purposes.

With a triumphant smile, the vile twin threw himself off the wall and landed on the ground, the portal right before him. Smiling wickedly at the still descending hero, he gave a taunting wave.

"See you never, hero. Hahaha!"

The dark Finn approached the rift, ready to leave the forsaken realm. At this moment, the presence inside the heroic young man spoke up.

_Quick Finn. Fire a wave at the portal, it will disrupt the time-space borders._

Deciding to take the entity's word for it, the human released his hold on the wall and sliced his sword toward the rift, sending an arc of temporal energy at the anomaly. Just as the evil alternate was about to step through, the attack connected, unleashing a spacial shockwave that threw the villain back against the wall.

The being grunted as his backside impacted the stone. However, he quickly recovered and made a break for the portal. Finn landed on the ground at this point, too late to stop his twin from crossing the rift. Luckily, the twisted being just slammed into what seemed to be a solid wall, shouting out in pain as he fell back to the ground.

The damaged portal now stood distorted, unable to clearly project a pathway back to the other dimensions. As the evil Finn once more stood up, he glared at his counterpart, who stood with his infinity sword raised. The dark human bare his teeth.

"I'm getting tired of being delayed you pest!"

The fight was on. The two Finns clashed, both attempting to push back the other's blade. The heroic human thought he had an advantage over his enemy, considering the cosmically enhanced weapon he wielded. However, his dark image seemed to be physically stronger. As good Finn began to struggle against the superior strength, his foe grinned.

"This is what happens when you spend too much time with your woman rather than training. You sacrifice power for comfort, and that shall be your downfall."

The honorable human found some extra might and shoved his opponent back.

"Shut up, jerk-wad!"

A temporal slash forced the evil twin to be slammed back by an arc of energy. It also put a crack in his blade. The vile human appeared concerned for a brief second before returning to anger and charging again at his enemy.

_That's it Finn, use our power. Channel the hatred and anger into your sword. Destroy this pathetic version of yourself._

Some part of Finn listened to the evil entity's advice as he brought his sword down upon the angel blood blade of his foe. The alternate's weapon continued to crack but he ignored it, kicking Finn in the stomach and delivering a swift slice to the hero's midsection.

The young man recoiled and jumped several feet back, covering his wound with his free hand. His eyes were burning with rage, wanting nothing more than to remove the annoyance before him. The dark being rushed forward, intending to impale the heroic human.

_Do it now Finn, unleash devastation on this fool!_

The young man roared with vice as his weapon was set ablaze and he sidestepped his evil alternate's charge with inhumane speed, causing the trans-dimensional foe to gasp in disbelief. This was his last act, as Finn's infinity sword bifurcated him a split second later. The demonic fires upon the blade instantly began to incinerate the defeated human's form, dissolving the foreign invader within seconds.

As the ashes of his adversary settled to the bottom of the pit floor, Finn extinguished his sword and calmly walked to the dark pile of remains. Sifting through them, he found what he was looking for: The Shard of Evil.

Disturbingly, he found himself wanting to hold the putrid object tighter in his grip, seemingly starving for the power the sliver held within. The chaotic force of a the nightosphere resonated from the Shard, drawing Finn's mind closer and closer to its influence.

_Delicious isn't it? Now how about you accept its power, take it for yourself so that we may slay your enemies and protect Flame Princess._

Finn stared at the purple item in his hand. His eyes were filled with hunger, completely blinded by the pull of the evil that was within his heart.

"Yes, I shall feast on its unholy might. I will annihilate Astrum, and establish total order in the multiverse!"

The young man let out a bloodcurdling laugh, which echoed up the sides of the pit, before loudly being expelled out to the surface. Out of nowhere however, Finn's Citadel insignia began to glow, displaying only the section that marked Infinity. The human looked stunned at his mark, unable to understand what was happening. The evil entity on the other hand, seemed to grow afraid.

_No! Stay away! He has me; he doesn't need your interference! I shall lead him to his destiny, to all power! Leave now! Be gone from his heart you irritating little-_

The vile infection didn't have a chance to finish. The infinity symbol brightened, nearly burning the young man's skin. A moment later, the vile force within the hero's heart suddenly screamed. In a matter of seconds, the menacing voice of the infection was gone, sealed away with the power of the omnipotent force. Finn collapsed onto the floor, passing out.

He awoke a few minutes later. The pit was silent. The hero listened carefully, waiting for the evil presence to make itself heard. Nothing came. Confused, he looked over at his shoulder. The insignia has vanished once more. The young man then gazed at his sword, examining the intricate symbol that served as the weapon's cross guard. He stared in wonder.

_Infinity gave me time. And now, I should make the most of it._

Standing back up, the human placed the Shard of Evil in his pocket and walked over to the disrupted portal. Without hesitation, he stabbed the rift with his blade, instantly impaling and forming a multitude of cracks on its surface. A few seconds later, the anomaly shattered, dissipating the time-space fragments into the air.

Satisfied with what he had accomplished, the hero now wondered how he was going to exit the hole he was in. He could certainly climb, but that would take too long. He began pacing, trying to come up with an idea. At last, he grew irritated and pounded the wall with his fists.

"Cram it to the butternuts! How the flip do I get out of this hole!?"

Groaning and beginning to lose it, Finn began pacing in a circle trying to calm himself. A few minutes later, he heard the flapping of wings. Hoping that his friends had returned to save him, the human looked up hopefully. What he saw was not his gang, but it **was** a familiar face.

"Hey, you, gross guy. Need some help?"

The jailer that Finn and Jake had encountered years ago now hovered a few feet in the air, giving the human a curious stare. The hero replaced his sword in his pack and walked up to the lowering demon. He was surprised.

"How the heck are you still alive?"

The jailer shrugged.

"Well, I was kinda on a lunch break, well, more like a lunch run, for the master, but then I was sort of knocked out by this boulder than some crazy guy in black cloak sent flying at me. Apparently I was in the way but whatever, it's not like it was worse than what Abadeer does to me."

Finn grew a skeptic look. The demon continued.

"Anyway. I woke up and the whole place was all nasty, like the whole realm looked like someone was cooking red soup in in the ground and I was thinking, dude that's gross, what kind of sicko wou-"

Finn clamped his hands on his ears and gave a disgusted expression.

"Dude stop! I don't need that back in my head!"

The jailer shrugged.

"So, I'm like one of about a dozen or so guys who are not dead down here and I figured the master was busy so I started flying around helping whoever I found."

Finn put his hands back to his side and grew a hopeful face.

"So…could you give me a lift to Abadeer's palace?"

The demon shrugged again.

"Yeah sure, just don't get any of 'the stuff' near me like last time."

The human rolled his eyes.

"I don't have any bananas on me, ok?"

Ignoring the statement, the jailer grabbed Finn by his shoulders and lifted them both into the air, heading for the opening of the pit.

* * *

Astrum and Solara both floated in midair, panting heavily as they glared at each other a few yards apart. Both precursors were covered in bruises and a several cuts. Astrum had several broken ribs on his left side and was bleeding profusely from his mouth. He also sported a black eye.

Solara claimed a twisted right arm, a swollen cheek, and a shattered knee. Her flames had also weakened, as she now glowed blue. Neither opponent could heal themselves, thanks to the Ancestral Flame's negation spell. Deciding the break was over, Astrum charged again at the angelic being, preparing a strong uppercut to the woman.

She dodged and swung around to the man's jaw. The hit connected and sent him flying toward Hunson's palace. Solara followed. As the dark being was flung toward the ruined castle, he regained his positioning and managed to tuck and roll before hitting the roof, which he did so with a very sharp thud.

Solara reached the platform as well moments later. She defensively stood between her foe and her gang of friends. They all watched intently as the fight had now been moved to solid ground. Astrum recovered his stance and immediately saw Solara running at him once again.

The two exchanged hits and swings, most of which were avoided, as they were making their way toward the edge of the roof. The crowd grew nervous as Solara's back was turned to the ledge. As several more attacks were thrown, Astrum realized his advantage and increased the ferocity of his blows, forcing Solara to hastily back away until she felt her feet close to open air.

The Ancestral Flame suddenly saw her predicament as she looked back at the ground below. Her movements had unfortunately caused a loss of balance, making her fall back and nearly tumble off the building, if it weren't for Astrum.

The pitch black foe grabbed Solara by the throat as she nearly fell off the roof, grasping the woman tightly as she began to struggle and attempt to pry his hand off of her neck. It was no use; the manipulator had greater physical strength than she did. Astrum held his opponent up higher and brought back his fist, preparing to finally end the battle.

Everyone gasped in shock as the blow was thrown at the helpless precursor, who closed her eyes as the punch grew nearer. Just before the hit would connect however, the master of perfect timing himself reappeared in the blink of an eye, leveling a strong kick to Astrum's face, causing him to both let go of his enemy and stumble backwards, falling to the ground.

Finn now held the beaten Solara in one arm as he slid out his sword with the other. Before the evil precursor could recover, the human jumped clean over him and rejoined his friends. The entire group was overjoyed at his return as he gently placed Solara in their care.

"Finn! Oh man, are we glad to see you bro."

The hero grinned at Jake as the magical dog gave him a quick hug with his stretchy noodle-like limbs. After releasing him, the human was met with another embrace, this one basically a death hug, form the girl of his dreams. Flame Princess had several lava tears in her eyes as she apparently refused to let the young man go.

"Finn, just, thank you, for coming back."

The hero smiled and tenderly returned the embrace.

"Of course I did. I'll never leave you on your own remember? That was a promise."

FP just hugged him tighter.

"I know. I love you Finn."

The human kissed the fiery girl's forehead.

"I love you too Flame Princess."

Regretfully, he had to break the hold to face the still imminent threat. FP watched over Solara as Finn approached the now standing Astrum. The hero raised his sword and smirked at the precursor.

"Ready for your next beat down?"

The vile being eyed the human and scowled with his blue eyes. Finn suddenly felt himself stiffen. As the enemy regained his composure fully, the young man tightened his grip on his sword. The precursor before him just stared. He decided to take the first move.

Rushing at Finn, Astrum got ready to slam down on his foe with the full force of his fist. Luckily of the hero, the man was still quite exhausted from his fight with Solara. His movements were no match for the agile speed of his opponent. Finn swiftly dodged the blow and kicked the vile being in his stomach.

Being the second time he was struck in that spot, Astrum couldn't help but fall over in pain, smacking into the ground on his back. Not giving a chance to recover this time, the human leapt onto the precursor and laid his blade near the man's neck. His eyes were filled with anger, but also determination.

"Give up the other two Shards you psycho!"

Astrum struggled under the hold of the teenager, but was still too drained to continue the fight. He thought hard, thinking of his surroundings. Suddenly, an option popped into his mind. Without warning, the precursor grabbed the pocket of Finn's pants and tore the fabric, releasing the Shard of Evil held within.

Grabbing the object, the devious being proceeded to smash his fist down on the already damaged roof. The material rumbled and cracked as Finn was thrown slightly off balance. Astrum took the opportunity to smack the hero off of him. As the human landed on his feet, he watched with horror as the roof beneath his enemy collapsed, sending him dropping through the castle at a great speed.

Astrum's falling body managed to smash through all the consecutive floors in the building, up until he reached the main chamber, where Hunson's portal still lay open. As Finn watched with disbelief, the pitch black precursor fell into the mysterious rift, which flung the man to who knows what dimension.

The human smacked his fist into the ground with heavy force, surly breaking several knuckles.

"Damn it!"

He began to lose it, enraged that not only had Astrum escaped but he had managed to grab the third Shard in the process. His friends looked to him with concern.

"Finn, I know it's terrible but we have to recover, we can't just charge into an unknown universe after him."

PB words were perfectly logical, but the young man glared at her.

"No! I can take him. I can tear him apart no matter where he went. I'll hunt him down and rip every last Shard from his corpse!"

The gang all gasped at their friend's harsh and contemptuous rant. Flame Princess weakly walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. Her face was full of concern.

"Finn please, this isn't you, I need you to come back to us. We need your help."

All at once, the human grabbed the girl's arms, a malicious smile forming on his face.

"You're right, it's **not **me. HAHAHAHA!"

The fire elemental watched in horror as her man let out a terrifying laugh. His grip on her arms tightened, hurting her.

"Finn, stop, it hurts."

The hero paid no attention and continued his raving. A voice chimed in from behind.

"Flame Princess!"

The girl turned just in time to see Bubblegum toss a syringe her way. The fiery ruler caught it and immediately understood. Regrettably, she jammed the needle into Finn's neck, who shouted out in pain and surprise. He attempted to push the girl away from him, but she had already injected the serum into his body.

The hero instantly grew weaker, fading from consciousness. FP caught the young man in her arms as his blue eyes closed and his breathing slowed. The princess began to sob slightly, feeling the effects of having her love consumed by the horrid infection within. The human's heart was beating erratically.

"Come on, everyone's here. Get back to the Citadel!"

Everyone nodded at Pebble's command and activated their insignias. Their forms dissipated as the incredible force began teleporting them to the grand temple. The last thing to hit the ground before their departure was a single lava tear from Flame Princess, suffering from the cruelty the multiverse had placed on her and the one she loved.

* * *

**_Not much to say this time except you guys are still awesome._**

**_Hoped you enjoyed and please review!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 23: Blazing Exorcism


	23. Chapter 23: Blazing Exorcism

Chapter 23: Blazing Exorcism

The whole gang, including Sentin and Index, rushed through the halls of the Citadel, desperate to return their suffering friend to the hospital room and get him help. Solara was in barely any better condition, weakly staying awake in Sentin's arms. Jake carried the poor human on his stretched out back, with Flame Princess staying by his side the entire time. The fiery girl still had small tears running down her face, gazing at Finn's motionless form and hoping he'll wake up himself.

_Please Finn, I can't lose you, not again, not like this._

Index commanded the door to open and the group quickly entered the medical chamber. Inside, Marceline was sitting next to her father on a nearby bed. The Lord of Evil had a large wrapping of bandages around his chest, but seemed to be rid of Astrum's molecular degradation. The vampire's desire had been fulfilled.

Marcy floated forward with concern, seeing the condition that the Ancestral Flame and hero were in. The two new patients were set down on a pair of beds right next to each other as Index and Bubblegum began bringing up various holo-screens and activating equipment. Several delicate robotic arms scanned and checked Solara's and Finn's heart rate, breathing, and mental status. The fiery precursor pushed the mechanical limbs away, insisting there was a better way.

She nodded to Ferrum and FP, who understood and walked up to her bedside. After placing their hands on the angelic entity's abdomen, the two elementals proceeded to transfer enormous amounts of their heat energy into the bluish form of the flickering woman. Progressively, Solara's flames began to increase their temperature, gradually raising the tone of her combustion to a light blue and finally the pure white that was signature to the maternal being.

While Solara was recovering, the rest of the group attended to Finn, who was still passed out from the serum injected into him. PB had taken only a few minutes before they departed for the nightosphere to specially design the liquid to not just knock the young man unconscious but also cause his heart to beat in a pattern that seemed to disrupt the evil's influence. This was responsible for the human's peaceful sleep, rather than twitching all over the bed.

As everyone else was brought up to average health, all attention was refocused on Finn. Peebles ran diagnostics with Index while Flame Princess sat by the hero's head, gently running her fingers through his golden hair. His hat lay nearby on a table, along with his pack and infinity sword. The blade seemed to be glowing slightly, as if Infinity itself was offering its help.

But there was nothing anyone knew of to do. Hopeless stares were trained on the human's stiff body, all thinking as hard as they could to figure a way to undo the terrible infection raging through Finn's heart. No one spoke, only the chimes of the machinery and computers broke the silence.

Princess Bubblegum shook her head.

"I'm sorry, there's just no way to remove it without killing him in the process. I'm afraid there's nothing."

The whole room lowered their heads, saddened by the lose they might be forced to suffer. The human would soon be consumed by the vile entity within him, unable to retain his self-control or righteousness. Flame Princess was pouring out lava at this point, blurring he vision immensely. Solara walked over and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. The young ruler threw herself into the precursor's arms, sobbing the whole time.

The angelic being gently stroked the fire elemental's hair, trying to calm her. FP managed to utter a sentence between her crying.

"Solara, you've been around longer than anyone. There has to be **something** to cure him. Anything…"

The gang looked to the woman with pleading in their eyes. The Ancestral Flame felt the pressure and looked to the ground, thinking hard. This was hurting her more that she was leading on. Not only was she once again helpless to save a dear friend, but this time she wouldn't be the one greatest affected by it. In addition, how could she allow one that her very own creation, a divine force of the multiverse, had chosen, to perish on a hospital bed?

Suddenly, everyone heard a shuddering sound. Heads turned to see Finn's infinity sword shaking on the table. They stared in bewilderment as it bounced closer and closer to the edge before falling off and striking with a loud clank on the floor. No one moved, quite frightened.

The fear was forgotten as another phenomenon occurred. The Citadel insignias of everyone in the room began to blink, displaying only the blue symbol that had aided their human friend several times over. The gang was confused beyond words. Even the three precursors could not explain what was happening.

Solara reached up and felt her insignia, lightly pulsating near her neck. She closed her eyes, feeling the energy swirling within her. Somewhere in the mass of fire and emotion, a different set of powers were calling out to her. The woman knew what it was, and she now knew what they were trying to tell her.

The fiery precursor opened her gaze and set it upon the peaceful face of the human lying before her. His eyes were shut as if in a deep sleep, with no interference whatsoever. She knew better. Hidden behind the hero's gentle and caring spirit, a vile force was attempting to finally take complete control. It was now her duty to stop it.

_They refuse to let him fall to his own restrained evil. I shall not allow this to happen. Not while I still exist._

"Flame Princess."

The young queen stopped her quiet sobs and looked into the Ancestral Flame's eyes. The woman had a determined look upon her face. She took the girl's hand in her own.

"There **is **a way. One that only you can perform."

Everyone stared at the fiery entity, wondering what she had come up with. Flame Princess desperately faced the precursor.

"How? Please…I'll do whatever it takes…anything."

Her eyes did not lie. She would gladly lay down her own life for the young man now basically comatose on the bed. Solara carefully began to explain.

"Do you remember during the battle with Astrum? When the bright flash filled the sky?"

The fire elemental nodded slowly, paying close attention. Ferrum suddenly took a step forward.

"You created a new spell, using only what you had done in those brief seconds in midair."

Solara nodded to the man, then relocated her gaze to the whole group in general.

"When two or more individuals synchronize their hearts to the highest level, and when they have made contact with Infinity or Eternity, they achieve a divine state of courage and purity, an unbreakable standpoint in which one is able to forge new powers using only their bonds between each other's trust and unity. That state…is Harmony's Origin."

The precursor watched as everyone's, even her two old friends', eyes grew wide with astonishment. Solara took both of Flame Princess's hands in hers and motioned for the girl to stand up. She did so and anxiously waited for the woman's next words.

"Princess, do you believe in Finn entirely, do you trust, honor, and love him above all else?"

The young queen formed her expression into a brave face of determination, even managing to stop the tears. She nodded.

"I swear on my soul."

Solara continued.

"Do you feel absolute unity between your two hearts; can you feel the very essence of an indestructible bond?"

FP nodded again.

"I do."

"Are you willing to risk everything to protect and care for him, and do you believe he would do the same for you?"

"I do."

Solara tightened her hold on the girl's hands.

"Then prove it. Find Finn, reclaim his heart, and remove the horrid stain that keeps you apart."

The precursor released her hold on FP's hands and placed her own on both teenagers' chests, right above the beating force that linked them together. Solara intensified her flames, sending virtuous energy throughout both Flame Princess and Finn's bodies. The fiery girl closed her eyes, focusing on the power that surged in her veins.

She began to search, feeling her way through the link Solara had provided in order to find Finn's heart source.

_I would do anything…_

A possible hit was found. FP pushed in further, closing in on the heat that she believed was her love's emotional strength.

_Anything at all…_

A dark energy suddenly coiled around the first, clearly trying to keep her away. She lashed out, fusing her feelings for the human with the struggling flow trapped beneath the evil.

_To be with you…_

The evil screamed as a bond managed to form between the two lover's hearts. It had failed to keep the princess out, overwhelmed and underestimating the power it was facing when both of them were joined together.

_And I would do the same for you…_

It was Finn, clearly and without a doubt. Flame Princess breathed slowly, meditating to allow herself to be pulled into the young man's core of emotions. From the bedside, Solara nodded to the girl, even though she couldn't see her do so.

"Now go, grasp the threads that bind your very existences together. Banish the doubt and form your own strength. Dive into trust and break through the lies."

Flame Princess embraced the human's energy, determined to hold on to it as she finally saw the young man's true heart, completely untouched, but struggling against the evil's influence. She didn't care how bad the infection was. She would go in without a single regret, knowing that Finn was waiting for her help on the other side. He could not do this alone and he knew it.

Serenity had been reached, there was nothing left to do besides throw herself in, undeterred by whatever threat was present within the young man's sanctuary of love and affection.

_The standpoint of total courage and purity, Harmony's Origin._

As Solara removed the link she was providing to the synchronization, Flame Princess collapsed gently onto her man's chest, neither asleep nor dead.

* * *

The journey to the heart was much different than that of the mind. FP found herself surrounded by dozens of orbiting entities, each one a source of joy and happiness. However, many of them had been corrupted already, circling at an excessively slow pace around the core, which itself appeared blackened.

The fire elemental narrowed her eyes.

_That's where it's holding him, that's where I need to be._

Flame Princess increased her speed toward the succumbing core of Finn's righteous strength. While appearing initially solid, the walls of the heart in actuality were a thin membrane; hard enough to keep the infection from outright bursting but at the same time allowing the fiery girl to phase right through.

The space beyond the skin was totally different. In fact, it was familiar. The interior of the human's heart manifested itself as an environment reminiscent of the Fire Kingdom. There was even a palace in the distance, which FP flew toward. It wasn't until she was a few hundred feet away that she noticed a shining presence at the top. She changed her trajectory, shooting herself toward the roof, where the shimmer awaited her.

Landing on the edge, Flame Princess finally met eyes with the very force that was stealing her man. It was seated in a gorgeous throne, extravagant and large. There was no way it was Finn's idea. The young man detested things that were overly dramatic or exquisite. However, the true terror came from the fact that is appeared to indeed be the hero himself sitting in the chair.

There was one major giveaway: this being was made of fire. More specifically, it looked like Finn if he were a fire elemental. Flame Princess approached closer, waiting for the fiery entity to respond to her sight. It did, but was heavily laid back about it. A large and unnerving grin came to his lips.

"Well, if it isn't my love. Finally come to join me?"

FP glared at the flaming being and raised a flaming fist.

"You're not Finn, you monster."

The apparent young man looked hurt, but the princess could see through his acting.

"But honey, you must be having trouble seeing. I am clearly Finn the Human."

Flame Princess held up her other fist.

"You've already blown your cover creep. Finn would never talk so formally with me. And, he knows I hate couple nicknames!"

She threw several blasts of fire at the flaming image of the hero, who effortlessly held up his hand and absorbed the shots. He was now frowning.

"Darn, and here I was thinking I finally knew the guy. Oh well. Guess there's nothing left to do but kill you."

FP managed to sidestep a split second before the entity sliced down with the demon blood sword he had hidden behind him. The girl immediately retaliated with a strong kick to the being's gut. He sputtered, backing away as Flame Princess readied herself for another hit. The fire form smiled.

"It seems he taught you some moves. Impressive. Before we continue though, there's something I'd like to show you my dear princess."

He raised his hand and began to slowly peel away the flames surrounding his body and composing it. What the girl saw shocked her. Beneath the entity's face was the true one of Finn, a look of desperation and pain upon his face.

"Flame…Princess. I can't…hold out."

The girl approached the suffering human, only to have the evil controlling him allow the flames to reseal the young man inside. The vile being laughed.

"I've finally taken him. And there's nothing that will stop me. I will conquer everything this fool holds dear!"

FP shook off the statement and ran up to level the young man in the face. He blocked it with his arm before taking aim at another sword slice. The girl dodged again and backed away. The evil force charged at her, bloodlust in its eyes. She successfully avoided additional swings but knew that she couldn't just dodge forever.

The princess produced her flame sword and put it to use, parrying the blows she would've taken. As the evil entity was repeatedly denied any solid hits, it growled, frustrated at the girl's skill in protecting herself. She began to smile.

"More proof that you aren't Finn. He would've never been this bad at fighting!"

In one swift motion, the fiery ruler deflected another slice and struck down on an opening, cutting the man down the chest. As he screeched in pain, FP noticed that **two **voices were heard in the shout. Her face dropped to one of concern.

_Am I…hurting Finn too?_

The evil grinned after recovering, sealing the wound with wicked flames.

"You seem to have forgotten, it may be my consciousness but it's your dear fiancé's body. Anything you cut will give him a nice jolt of pain. Hahaha!"

Flame Princess grinded her teeth and stared with hate at the cruel being. She thought hard, wondering how to deal with this lunatic. She decided that Finn had to be freed before the jerk was yanked out of his heart. But how? As the entity charged again with his sword, FP continued to dwell on her dilemma, desperately trying to come up with a way to separate the two. She thought about what Solara had said about the state she was in.

_Forge new power…_

That was the answer. But it was far from plausible. For one, she had lost the direct link to Finn after entering is heart. Without it, she could not hope to utilize their bond to create anything. There had to be reestablished binds. But how could she get Finn to accept the joining if he was completely consumed?

While she thought about her problem, the evil had seen her distracted expression and took advantage, finding an opening to swipe its sword down on the fiery girl's left shoulder. She screeched from the hit, jumping back away from the enemy and holding her arm to the wound. Luckily it wasn't that bad. But there was something else. When the demon blood had come in contact with her, she felt something else, as if a source was calling out to her, pleading that she help.

At last, Flame Princess understood. There was indeed a way to get to Finn, but it was dangerous and could potentially throw her out of the young man's heart if she messed it up. Nevertheless, it was the only option.

The fire elemental saw the evil puppeteer running at her again, brandishing his sword to skewer the girl. Instead of dodging however, she closed her eyes and spread out her arms. The being was surprised, but not foolish enough to be distracted by strange behavior. Or perhaps, too foolish to realize what would happen.

FP held in the urge to scream as the demon blood weapon pierced her body, jutting out from her back. Magma blood was of course instantly bleeding from the wound, but the girl laid every bit of focus she could to staying conscious. She opened her eyes to see the vile entity that was overshadowing her love. He was smiling maliciously.

"Acceptance. It's so easy isn't it? If only the foolish human realized that earlier. It would have saved much suffering. At least now, you will be leaving us."

He dug the blade in deeper to Flame Princess's abdomen, causing her to flinch. Her whole body was shaking but she refused to pass out. She looked the being in the eyes, a look of pleading upon her face. The consumed human suddenly wore a look of surprise, he looked down on the injury he had inflicted and his eyes grew wide.

"No!...FP…you…"

The evil took back control.

"Forget it fool, she will now die by your own hands. And you!"

He glared at the fire elemental.

"Did you really think his guilt would bring him back?"

The fiery girl held her gaze to that of the hero's body, under control of the evil force. She still held a determined expression, which quickly turned into a weak smile. The evil was astounded. Before it could retract the sword and move Finn's body away, Flame Princess grabbed the young man's cheeks and drew him into a kiss.

The evil had not lied; it was in fact Finn's body. She remembered how his lips felt, how his skin reacted to her passionate act, warming up as she deepened the kiss on the man she loved. The vile entity was stunned, unable to move away. Finn's form suddenly removed the weapon from the princess's body, throwing the blade aside and placing his arms gently around the queen. The infectious cruelty began to scream.

_No! You can't break free fool! You are mine! I will destroy this girl, and you will be so lost in despair I will exterminate your very soul! You won't come back; you won't take back this form! DO YOU HEAR ME HUMAN!?"_

The body in front of Flame Princes instantly began to destabilize. A phantasmal figure was being pushed out of the human's flesh. As it was thrown out, the hero's form began to lose its fiery qualities, returning to the normal tanned skin and blue clothes that were signature to the young man.

The phantom continued to shout in rage, is own form taking the shape of a flame formed fire elemental. Its blazing arms attempted to work their way back into the hero, but to no avail. Finn had already torn himself away from the vile construct, brought up by the passion and love that his beloved had bestowed upon him with her kiss.

At long last, the being was thrown entirely to the ground, where it fell to the floor fully materialized. Meanwhile, FP drew back her lips, unable to continue due to lose on her strength. Finn opened his eyes, gazing into hers.

"Flame Princes…you…came after me."

The girl smiled weakly, beginning to lose focus.

"Well duh. How could I leave you behind, dummy?"

The human smiled back and held the fiery being closer to his body, embracing her. It was then that he felt the warm liquid on his chest, clearly too hot to be anything but the princess's blood. He looked down and was startled to see the wound. He quickly laid FP down gently on the floor and examined the injury. It was really bad, having gone straight through her entire abdomen. He looked up to the fire elemental's eyes.

"Why FP, why did you let this happen?"

The fiery ruler grinned as best she could.

"I would do anything, to get you back. I love you too much to worry about my own life."

The young man shook his head, now tearing up.

"Damn it! I won't let it happen! You're not going to die, not inside my own heart."

The human picked up the princess's stiffening body and held her tight in his arms. While the girl was struggling to stay conscious, he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. They were directly in his heart, the source of his power and the key to saving FP. As he quietly meditated, he reached out with his energy flow and found that Flame Princess's actual body was lying on top of his chest.

He could feel the girl's heartbeat, growing weaker as she suffered within his form. However, he could also grasp the still cycling energy flow that resided in her own heart. Carefully, the human coiled his blue flow around the princess's red one, fusing them together as both their bodies warmed up from the energetic friction.

Finn opened his eyes, looking down at the terrible injury on his fiancée. With a final breath, he drew in the power he had just established, allowing it to easily be conducted straight into his heart and gather within his manifested form. With that done, he gently laid one of his hands on the bloody wound.

"Harmonic Catalyst."

A bright flash of purple filled the entire realm, blinding even Finn with its luminosity. He didn't cover his eyes however; wanting to make sure his act had succeeded. As the light died down, he saw that it indeed had.

Flame Princess's abdomen was fully healed. As he looked up to her eyes, he could tell her strength was returning. He couldn't help but laugh as the girl gave him a silly grin, still woozy from the reaction.

"Is this Glob World?"

Finn continued to laugh.

"It can if you want it to be."

The fiery girl readjusted her eyes, examining her surroundings to see where exactly she was. Understanding that she had not died, she turned back to her man, a graceful smile upon her face.

"It doesn't matter if I am or not, if you're there it's automatically paradise."

The couple shared another kiss, reliving the joy of finally being able to do so after so much time of separation and woe. As they reunited however, the evil entity had finally gotten to its feet. The two broke their kiss to eye down the vile infector. He had a look of loathing on his face.

"You annoying little brat! I had him! I was prepared to take my rightful place and destroy every last remnant of that human's pitiful existence. But you just had to mess it all up."

Finn let FP on her feet and stepped forward.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that freak!"

The evil laughed, retrieving his sword with a stretched out flaming arm.

"Or what? Thanks to your desire Finn, I have complete dominance in this place. You cannot hope to stop me!"

The two teens glared at their foe.

"What are you talking about?"

Finn held up a fist, threatening to strike if answers were not given. The evil flame grinned maliciously. He pointed a finger at the young man.

"You don't actually know what the Citadel did, do you?"

The hero bared his teeth, unwilling to be distracted but still listened intently.

"You think it just gave you a magical shield, or recoded your DNA like the gum woman said? HA! You never figured it out did you? Your increased body temperature, your natural talent with flame alchemy, your ability to accept energy flows from others?"

The entity now pointed his sword wielding arm at the human.

"The Citadel didn't make you immune to flames fool. It literally gave you the **heart **of a fire elemental!"

Finn and FP stood stunned, astonished by the revelation. The evil being continued.

"Since that event, the manifestation of this heart has become the perfect environment for the likes of my flaming body. That is why you can't win, that is why I will eviscerate your bodies in a matter of seconds without any hope for the two of you!"

As the being let out a maniacal laugh, Flame Princess turned to Finn, who was still shocked, clutching his chest. The girl used her hand to bring the young man's chin around to face her. She gazed into his eyes.

"Finn, if what he said is true, then he just made the biggest mistake ever."

The human was confused. His fiancée suddenly moved his head down to rest his forehead against hers.

"If you really have the heart of a fire elemental, then I can show you how we can beat him."

In an instant, she focused and increased her flames.

* * *

Solara nearly fell back as Flame Princess's body began to glow brighter. The precursor thought for a moment before seeing that the girl's hand was attempting to grab something. The angelic entity understood, taking the hand gently in hers.

_I'm here princess. Now show him._

The Ancestral Flame shot her energy within the joined teens, infiltrating the hero's heart to send her power to the girl who was asking for her help.

* * *

FP breathed slowly as she felt Solara's flames enter her own matrix. She then proceeded to join her memories with Finn's, intent on revealing the secrets that their bond could unleash. Meanwhile, the evil entity glared at them.

"Very well, if you are finally willing to accept your deaths, I shall gladly fulfill your request!"

The flaming being consumed himself in a pillar of fire. The cyclone of burning ribbons began to shift and conform to a new shape, slowly building claws, a tail, and a wicked looking maw on the blazing twister's surface. Before long, the tornado of flames now hovered in the air, dissipating any extra fire and revealing what lay underneath.

The manipulative force now floated in the air in the form of a massive fire dragon, complete with enormous flaming teeth and eyes that were seething with rage, glowing a solid red within the monster's sockets. It reared back, then lunged at the defenseless couple below.

Finn and Flame Princess opened their eyes, gazing into one another intently, as if the world around them didn't exist. The human smiled, as did his lady.

"I love you, FP."

The princess ran her hand down the hero's cheek.

"I love you too, Finn."

The two teens finally noticed the charging dragon. Remarkably, they remained absolutely calm as they turned to face the threat, holding each other's hand. They swiveled their necks to nod to one another and give a final grin.

"Ready?" the young man asked.

"Ready," the fiery girl replied.

Both of them took a deep breath and held up their joined hands. The dragon continued its lunge, opening its jaws to crush the two within its flaming mouth.

_When hearts are aligned…_

_And no fear exists…_

_The divine state will allow for the creation of new power…_

_Watch now as our bond transcends the darkness…_

_Forging the weapon to end this madness…_

Flame Princess's body began to glow brighter and brighter, eventually consuming her features until only her form was left. Eventually though, even that was morphed. The girl's humanoid silhouette vanished, changing into the shape of a massive spear, which Finn promptly took hold of and raised in his arm, preparing a throw at the approaching fire beast.

At last, FP's new form materialized fully, revealing an amber colored weapon with intricate fire designs all along its length. At the midpoint of the object, the infinity symbol was carved into the metal. It glimmered in the surrounding flames before lighting up with a purple aura. Finn took careful aim as their enemy neared.

_Phoenix Javelin._

The spear lit itself on fire, producing blinding white flames which instantly disoriented the charging monster, causing it to halt its advance and rear back from the light. His final mistake had been made.

With incredible skill, Finn fired the javelin straight at the beast's heart, where the weapon effortlessly pierced its flaming scales and made it roar intensely with pain. The dragon began to fall to the ground as the spear within him suddenly unleashed a force of divine flames, instantly consuming the area in white light.

Finn grinned, satisfied with the proof of how close his bond with Flame Princess was. As the manifested world around them began to crumble, he could hear the continued screams of the infectious evil, suffering from the ejection from the young man's heart. Right before the area fell apart completely, FP's form rematerialized next to the human giving him a warm smile.

He smiled back and the two embraced once more before they finally departed the realm.

* * *

The two teenager's eyes flew open, causing everyone in the room to gasp. Solara looked carefully at the two, wondering if they had succeeded. Flame Princess gazed into Finn's blue eyes, which were filled with nothing by serenity and good will. Tears gathered in her eyes as the hero smiled at her. Before the young man could react, she had flung her arms around his neck, overjoyed that he was finally back to normal.

The rest of the room soon gathered in for a group hug, excited that the evil had been purged from their friend. As Finn laughed at all the attention, he suddenly noticed a strange heat coming from his hand. He motioned for his gang to back up as he brought up his closed fist.

Everyone watched as the human carefully opened his hand to reveal what lay within. What he found made the whole room gasp. There, lying in the hero's palm, was a fiery red sliver that seemed to glow with intense flames from within its frail body.

Several people covered their mouths as all eyes grew wide. Finn glared down at the object, disbelieving how such a vile thing had grown in his body.

"The fourth Shard of Evil…"

* * *

_**Man, I hate being so late with this. Stupid work...**_

_**Anyway, hope you enjoy and please review!**_

_**next:** _Chapter 24: Astrum's Past


	24. Chapter 24: Astrum's Past

**_Disclaimer: I do not own the idea of the 'Palatium Iaculis' or its inhabitants. That ownership falls to the brilliant work of WWKC121._**

* * *

Chapter 24: Astrum's Past

Even though it was fairly empty and dark, the views of the surroundings of the Citadel were somehow mesmerizing to Finn. The human had been busy staring at the sky of a good several hours, alone in the courtyard. Since he had recovered from the infection, PB had recommended he get some fresh air. So here he was, standing around like some weirdo gazing at the heavens.

Bubblegum was busy with Index studying the Shard of Evil that the hero had pulled from his heart, looking for a way to neutralize the others. Marceline had gone to escort her dad back to the Nightosphere, where the remaining demons had decided to just go about their business without the Lord of Evil. Not that he could really do much about it anymore. The rest of the gang were either sleeping, exploring the temple, or talking with Sentin and Solara.

Finn suddenly turned around, seeing Flame Princess attempting to sneak up on him. The girl frowned and then stepped over to him, pouting. The human grinned and held up his hand, displaying the ring upon his finger.

"I still think that's no fun," the fire elemental complained.

Finn shrugged.

"We can take them off if you want."

He received a firm slap across his face. His face grew astonishment as he stared at his fiancée. She was giving him a small glare.

"Don't even joke about that. Never again…at least, until they get replaced."

Her smile showed up as she moved forward to hug her man. He returned the act warmly. They stood there for what seemed like an hour, just gently embracing each other, enjoying the fact that they were once again free to be together to their hearts' content.

A small cough interrupted them. It was one meant to get their attention. Backing away from each other, the couple turned to see Index hovering a few feet away. He looked nervous.

"Am I…interfering?"

The two teens looked at one another then back at the floating robot.

"Was there, something you wanted to talk about?" Finn asked.

Index hovered nearer, until he was a few feet from them. His expression was hard to read.

"I just…wanted to apologize. To both of you."

He looked at FP.

"Princess, what I did was unacceptable. I certainly deserved to be hit in the face, but you by no means deserved to be thrown into a wall. I'm sorry."

The fire elemental was somewhat touched by the archivist's apology. Finn on the other hand, had an expression of shock.

"You did WHAT!?"

The human seemed to be ready to crush the precursor to pieces but FP held on to his arm to stop him from approaching the spherical being.

"Finn, it's ok. I really upset him and he lost it a bit. Besides, I struck first."

The human took a deep breath then managed to calm down.

"Fine. Just make sure to keep me updated on things if I've been knocked out or something."

Flame Princess nodded as Index turned to now look at the hero.

"Finn, I wasn't being honest last time. I still didn't trust you. But I heard how you saved Solara, the very person who saved me long ago. For that I am forever grateful. And I don't believe I have the right to place you in the same position as those who came before you"

The mechanical archivist bowed his head to the human, who stepped up and stared at the precursor quizzically. Then, he grinned.

"Well for one, that meant a lot. For another, I knew you were never telling the truth. I mean, all we did was handshake."

Index was confused. Finn opened his arms out wide.

"If you mean it, you've gotta bring it in."

The precursor now looked nervous again.

"Come on dude, bring it in if you mean it. Otherwise I won't take the apology."

Giving up, Index floated over and gave the brotherly embrace that the human was asking for. Finn gave the robot a few pats on the back, making several metallic clangs as the metal body vibrated. The precursor did the same with several of his arms.

Finally, they backed off and the hero held up his fist, which the archivist bumped with his own. The two smiled at each other, reconciled. Index then floated back a bit and twiddled with his hands.

"Also, to make up for my behavior I thought I might be able to offer some help. Finn, I'm guessing you want to find out more about Astrum."

The human formed a serious face and nodded. The precursor held out one of his many hands. It contained a small disk-like object. The young man accepted it and studied the item curiously.

"The Citadel is but one of several dimensions that contain vast amounts of knowledge. The temple itself had little to offer on the menace's bio. But there is a chance you may find something in his memories."

Index pointed to the disk in Finn's hand.

"That device can transport you to the greatest collection of memories in the current multiverse. Sentient precursors are banned from entering it but you certainly can."

The human and fire elemental were amazed by the idea of such a place. Finn looked a bit skeptical.

"What exactly do you think I'll find?"

The precursor shrugged.

"I haven't the slightest idea, but it's worth investigating. We may find an edge to use against him."

The human nodded, staring back at the disk. Flame Princess placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You know I'm coming, don't you?"

The hero grinned and kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, I know."

The fiery girl smiled back and turned her attention to the hovering archivist.

"Thank you Index. We'll put this to good use."

The orb-like being gave a small smile of his own and began to float away.

"Good luck you two. And be efficient. Those devices are single use only and I don't have any more right now."

The two waved as Index hovered through the entrance and disappeared into the Citadel. The couple looked back to the device Finn was holding. He noticed a button on top and pressed it. The disk immediately glowed and shot out of the human's hand, hovering over the two teens' heads as it began to spin faster and faster.

Soon enough, it let out a bright flash, blinding them to the surroundings and finally disassembling their corporeal forms for transport. In a moment, they were gone.

* * *

The flash dissipated and Finn and FP were now floating in zero gravity. Around them were nothing but strange gems embedded in the walls, each one shining brightly. They were utterly confused.

"What the heck? Couldn't he have told us we'd be floating?"

Flame Princess was beginning to lose her balance and tipped over, now hanging upside down compared to Finn and vise verse. Taking each other's arms, they carefully readjusted themselves to be on the same plane. A few minutes later, they managed to figure out how to stay stabilized and began scanning the room they were in.

There appeared to be no doors or exits of any kind, just more and more gems. Finn floated over to one and peered inside. He was surprised to see an image of himself, running through train cars destroying an infinite amount of enemies while collecting loot. FP joined him by the gem and peered in as well. The human soon laughed.

"Haha, I remember that. I got addicted to this awesome dungeon train and didn't want to ever leave. Thank Glob I snapped out of it after a few weeks."

The princess looked at him stunned, clearly bewildered by the young man's previous actions. He just shrugged.

"It was fun I'll admit, but I think I grew up a little from it. I managed to put my bro before endless entertainment."

FP smiled. Finn returned the expression then continued looking around the room.

"Ok so these are definitely memories but how do we find specific ones? There's no way we can check them all."

Before either being could speak again, a hologram was shot out of one of the gems. Appearing before Finn and FP was a figure similar to book-o, the guide of the Enchiridion. They were both shocked by the sudden projection and recoiled, although managing to stop themselves from floating too far back. The hologram spoke.

"Greetings, my name is Mem-o, keeper of- Oh, it's you two again."

The couple raised their eyebrows, confused once more. Finn brought himself closer to the projection.

"Uh, have we met?"

Mem-o suddenly realized what was going on. He held up a hand.

"My apologies. You are from a different dimension that the other pairs."

Flame Princess floated next to Finn and the companions stared at each other before looking back to the keeper.

"Other pairs?"

Mem-o nodded.

"Yes. Several years ago alternate versions of yourselves appeared within this structure in pursuit of a great evil."

Finn narrowed his eyes.

"The Lich."

Mem-o nodded again.

"Correct."

The human thought hard and asked his next question.

"What exactly is this place?"

The keeper cleared his throat.

"The construct you are currently inside of is the _Palatium Iaculis_, the multiverse's repository of memories. Beings who enter this facility arrive in a section which reflects their place in the world. You are currently within the subsection of 'Ooo's royalty' as the both of you are deemed rulers of the Fire Kingdom."

The teenager's frowned a bit. FP responded.

"But we're not technically a ruling pair yet, so isn't the _Iaculis_ wrong?"

Mem-o brought up a holo-screen that displayed some form of interference.

"The facility had a hard time processing your profiles. Although on a basic level you are quite different, some unknown power would not allow the two of you to become separated. The _Iaculis _was forced to compromise and so it sent you here."

Now the two understood, slowly nodding. Finn suddenly remembered why they were there in the first place.

"Mem-o, how can we get to different sections of the repository?"

The keeper projected a map in front of the couple, showing their current location.

"The _Iaculis_'s organization is quite complex. Is there a specific area you were looking to inquire?"

Finn was relieved that he wouldn't have to deal with the likely mind-boggling complexity of the facility. He excitedly replied.

"We need to get to the section on 'precursors'."

Mem-o's hologram blinked red for a moment followed by an error sound.

"I'm sorry, but that is restricted query. Do you have authorization?"

The two visitors looked at each other, stumped. Soon enough though, Finn thought of an idea. Hesitantly, he pointed to his shoulder, where his insignia began to glow. FP's did the same.

"Will this work?" the human asked nervously.

Two additional beams were projected out of the gem displaying Mem-o. The pair of lights quickly scanned the insignias, moving back and forth along the symbols. After a moment, the beams disappeared and the keeper blinked green, followed by a positive sounding noise.

"Citadel clearance accepted. Please enter through here; I will transport you to your destination."

Mem-o motioned the teens to a doorway that suddenly materialized in the wall. It glowed bright enough so that what lay beyond was impossible to see. Determined for answers, Finn pushed himself over to the doorway and stepped through. Flame Princess followed soon after.

Instantly, they appeared in another room. This one was much, much smaller. Finn looked a little lost, wondering where the rest of the memories might be. Mem-o's hologram showed up from another gem. The human turned to the keeper with confusion.

"Um, is this it? Nothing else? I would've thought there'd be more on beings who are billions upon billions of years old."

Mem-o shook his head.

"The _Palatium Icalius _is not a precursor. It only contains the memories of this cycle. Anything preceding this multiverse's creation is not archived in the facility. What you see here is the limited amount of memory from the precursors based on their experiences immediately following the birth of the next cycle. For this reason, you will find many points that seem to 'cut in', as if there is a piece missing."

Finn frowned, now worried they wouldn't find anything useful. However, Flame Princess came up and took his hand in hers. She held a supportive smile.

"Come on Finn, there's still a chance. Don't just give up right away."

The human felt better after the pep and nodded. He turned back to the keeper.

"Ok. We'll work with that. Can you bring up the memories of the precursor Astrum?"

Mem-o brought up several files and took a moment to search through them. A minute later, he motioned for the two to follow him as his hologram moved to a different wall. After a bit of tricky floating, they reached a row of obsidian colored gems. Mem-o stood aside and spoke.

"Astrum has accumulated very few memories in this cycle. He spent the majority of it in a state of hibernation. He apparently lost a large portion of his powers at an earlier point in time and was waiting for them to recover."

Finn and Flame Princess were intrigued, wondering what had happened to the precursor to weaken him. The keeper ran through data on several more memory gems before stopping at a certain point. He pointed to a small row of the mysterious rocks below. The teens floated down and peered into the surface of the objects. What they witnessed was tragic.

Astrum was shown killing multiple individuals, beating them to death or simply assassinating them. The two had a hard time watching and looked away. Finn gazed at Mem-o.

"What is this?"

The keeper moved down to join the visitors.

"Although Astrum has stated his agenda to be the destruction of existence, his memories reveal that he also regularly hunts down other precursors."

FP shuddered while Finn looked disgustedly back at the gems. The dark precursor was now depicted performing a strange act on his victims, appearing to drain their life-force or some such. He turned away again, not wanting to have such an image in his head. Mem-o was searching through more info before he found something interesting.

"Hm. It appears that a memory approximately 18 years old shows a link between you and Astrum."

Finn swerved his head to the keeper, his eyes wide and his mouth open.

"What did you just say!?"

Mem-o pointed to a gem a few rows up. The human quickly bounded up to it as FP followed closely. The young man stopped and peered carefully into the gem. It showed Astrum, cloaked and all, encountering two people who appeared…human! The hero clung to the obsidian colored rock as Mem-o's projection floated up to him.

"Would you prefer to view this memory directly?"

Finn tore himself away from the captivation of the gem and nodded briskly. The keeper held up his hand and the large jewel began to react, letting out a strange aura as its contents entered Finn's mind. FP grabbed his hand, not wanting to be left behind. In a flash, their view of the _Iaculis_ vanished.

* * *

Finn and Flame Princess stood in the middle of a dark forest. It was pouring rain and the sky was incredibly thick with grey clouds. Looking around, the two of them spotted Astrum. The being was hiding behind a tree, carefully studying two figures several yards ahead of him.

Knowing the memories couldn't see them, the couple rushed on ahead and attempted to identify the two individuals the dark man was stalking. Finn got further and approached the pair's backs, seeing that they were wearing heavy rain jackets with hoods. One was a man, the other a woman, based on their profiles. Instantly noticeable was the giant sword that was clung to the man's back. It was a claymore, one of the most difficult weapons to wield due to its weight and size. However, judging by the owner's physique, he would have no trouble swinging it around.

The human's partner had caught up to him, eagerly watching with him as the couple before them suddenly stopped at a small chasm in the road. The trench stretched out in both directions as far as one could tell, making it quite the obstacle. Using the opportunity of the beings not moving, Finn and FP walked around to see the duo form the front. What they saw was unbelievable. The young man's eyes trembled in his sockets, debating whether it could be true.

The man of the two looked exactly like Astrum did back in the Nightosphere. However, the peaceful and caring features on his face made it impossible for Finn to place the two in the same boat. This man was kind, clearly shown by how he was thinking deeply on how to help his lady get across the trench, rubbing his chin in thought.

The woman beside him was quite pretty. She had long red hair tied into a single braid that reached down her back beneath her hood. Her face displayed deep green eyes, along with a multitude of freckles, and a warm smile that clearly indicated she was amused by the man's attempts to figure a way past the obstacle.

Most noticeably of all was what she was carrying. Carefully cradled in both her arms, wrapped up in a thick blanket to protect against the rain, was a baby, silently snoozing in his mother's grasp. The infant had a fairly chubby body, from what could be seen, and wore an item that instantly distinguished him from any other baby in the world: a funny white hat with two nubs at the top, as if acting as ears.

Finn couldn't move, awestruck by what he was seeing. Flame Princess was right beside him, feeling, to a lesser extent, the same. For one, the beings were obviously human. For another, they were two people that the hero never thought he'd set eyes on. FP took hold of his hand and held it tightly.

"Finn…can you believe it? Your parents, your actual parents!"

The human could barely respond, just managing to tilt his head up and down a few centimeters. He just couldn't take what he was seeing as real. The ones who had originally cared for the boy now stood before him, the splitting image of a true family. It made him wonder more than ever: how had he ended up separated from them?

The man shrugged and turned to his wife, grinning.

"Well, the way I see it we have two options. We can either walk a few miles north to find the bridge, or we can go back home. What's the call sweety?"

As the woman looked up in thought, her smile remained on her face. She was obviously a mischievous one, evidenced by the look she gave her husband a few moments later. While this was happening, Flame Princess spoke up.

"It's kind of strange; you don't seem to have gotten anything from your mom's side."

The slim redhead held her child out to her love, who accepted his son with confusion. With a final grin, the lady grabbed the handle of her husband's sword and slid it out of its sheath.

"I choose…**my** way!"

She ran at a nearby tree as Finn and FP stood dumbfounded. With one swift motion, she hacked the trunk cleanly through with the massive blade, causing the wooden log to slowly tip over before finally crashing down across the chasm, forming a simple little crossing.

The two teenagers were still stunned.

"Never mind…" FP stated.

Finn's mother triumphantly held the claymore on her small shoulders as she walked back to her man and slid the weapon back into its holder. The blonde human remarkably appeared unsurprised at his wife's actions. He just shook his head smiling.

"Always the wild one you were."

The crimson haired lady winked at him.

"Of course dear, it's been like that since we were little kids."

As the woman accepted her child back and the pair walked over to the makeshift bridge, Finn was finally able to speak.

"Holy stuff…mom was awesome!"

Flame Princess beamed at her fiancé, happy to see him get some closure on what his real parents were like. But several things still remained unanswered. What happened to them, and how was Astrum involved? The hero seemed to be thinking the same thing, looking back to see the dark precursor still peeking from the woods.

Silently, the being crept out of the bushes and followed over the tree bridge, being careful to stay well behind the pair but not out of range of his sight. Finn glared at the dark man before looking up into the sky.

"Hey Mem-o! Can you filter this through to a significant event?"

The young man didn't know if the keeper could hear him but was pleasantly surprised when the memory briefly destabilized and then refocused. The terrain had switched to a clearing, where Finn and FP saw the human's parents stop at a small mound in the ground. A tombstone was seen at its head.

Walking up to the grave, the teens read what was written on the stone. It was only three words.

**Our beloved daughter**

The couple's eyes grew with despair as they realized who this was. Finn began to tear up, caught up in the flood of revelations.

"I…I would've had a sister."

Flame Princess gave her love a comforting embrace, doing her best to help the young man get past the saddening discovery. Meanwhile, Finn's parents had gently bent down to the grave, quietly gazing at the inscription. They held humble smiles, although both of them were wet eyed, not quite letting out the salty tears. The hero's mother spoke.

"Hello my angel, we're just checking up on you. Making sure you're comfortable. We miss you very much."

A single drop finally escaped down the woman's cheek.

"We still regret that you never got to take in a single breath from this beautiful world. It was heartbreaking…not seeing your eyes flutter open when you came out. I'm…so sorry, my poor baby."

At this point she broke down, turning to her husband and throwing herself into the man's arms, which reached around to comfort her as she sobbed into his jacket and held baby Finn between them. The blonde human had also lost his smile, looking solemnly at his child's burial.

"I too am sorry. I couldn't find the answer…of how to bring you back. There had to be a way…I just didn't see it."

He placed his head on his wife's temple, also beginning to weep. A few feet from the couple, Finn and Flame Princess were also letting the pain soak in, weeping quietly at the tiny site before them. They mirrored the parents' act, embracing each other tightly to support both their anguish.

Nearby, Astrum was observing the spectacle, looking disgusted. He decided now was the time to make his move. Extracting himself form the bushes, he quietly approached the two parents, until he was but a few yards away, stopping in his tracks and waiting. After a few minutes of patient standing, he grew irritated.

In a second, he drew out a sword from his cloak and pointed it at the couple. Finn's father reacted instantly, hearing the metal glide along the scabbard as the dark being had removed it. The man brought out his own weapon and shielded his wife, who broke out of her sobbing and stared at the intruder.

The dad glared down at the precursor, analyzing the threat.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Astrum remained holding his blade as he replied.

"Who I am is irrelevant. You are the man who has journeyed across the sea, explored foreign lands?"

Finn's father narrowed his eyes further.

"I'm not telling you anything until you put that sword down. And even then I'll be hesitant."

Astrum, surprisingly, lowered the weapon, replacing it in his cloak which concealed the scabbard. He then took a single step closer toward the couple. They heightened their guard, clearly worried for their son.

"Back off!" the blonde man yelled.

The precursor did not move back, but instead raised his arm, holding his hand out toward the baby Finn as if reaching for him.

"If you refuse to simply give me what I want, I'll have to force you to do so."

A strange energy was produced from the precursor's palm. It had a sinister sense, amplified by the low hum it created. Finn's parents tightened their defense around their child, angrily staring down the foe. Before they knew it however, baby Finn began to glow with the same aura as the pitch black entity's hand.

The infant's mother attempted to brush away the energy, to no avail. The father looked desperately at his son then angrily back to Astrum.

"What are you doing to him!?"

The precursor simply continued his action. The tiny Finn had now woken up, feeling the ominous energy flowing around him. He began to cry heavily, causing his mother to try getting him to calm down. It was in that moment that a bright light engulfed the child, swallowing him up instantly before the flash faded in a second.

"NO!"

Both parents screamed in horror. Finn was gone; all that was left was the blanket he had been wrapped in. The father charged at Astrum in rage, determined to take the villain down. The precursor in turn, drew his weapon and caught his foe's claymore in its blade. Unfortunately, the manipulator's habit of underestimation caused him to be caught off guard as his sword was cleanly bent nearly in half from the massive force the dad was exerting.

"Bring him back you bastard!"

Astrum glared at the man before suddenly shifting his weight and shoving the human off of him. As Finn's father got back up, the precursor pointed at him.

"If you want to get him back, you will take me to where I need. You will take me to the land of Ooo. Once there, you can search for your precious son. Refuse and he will likely perish in whatever place the spacial wave dropped him off."

The parents stared with sheer hatred at the dark being, clenching their fists and grinding their teeth. Eventually though, Finn's mom gave in, hanging her head. Her husband stepped over to her and placed his free arm around the woman trying to comfort her. He then looked back at the cruel precursor.

"Fine. I'll do it."

The memory destabilized again. Mem-o apparently predicted that Finn would want to skip to the next major point instead of watching every minute of the disaster. As the scape around them reformed itself, the young man stared at the ground.

"So…that's how I ended up in Ooo. It was all **his **fault."

Flame Princess had been hugging the poor hero from behind the whole time, desperate to keep him from breaking down. She nuzzled his back as she spoke up.

"Do you think it was…a horrible mistake?"

Finn could tell form the tone of her voice that she was worried, and he knew exactly what it was about. The human gently removed the girl's arms from his abdomen and turned around to face her. He looked her deep in the eyes with his. Her expression was anxious. He simply held her close with one arm while parting aside some of her bangs with the other. He smiled.

"It would never be a mistake that I met you. Don't ever think that FP; my love for you has made up for all of this, I couldn't be happier with anyone else. And I know our future will prove it."

He leaned in and kissed his princess gently on her soft lips. She closed her eyes, lost in the feeling. After a moment, they separated, gazing into each other's deep pupils.

"I sometimes wonder," the fiery girl began.

"Would I have ever imagined myself here, with you, someone who cares for me enough to go through any challenge, never give up, and be there every minute to make sure I'm happy. I never quite understand how we are so closely bonded. And I definitely don't understand how two people like us even fell in love."

Finn just smiled, savoring the quiet moment with his lady, thinking about her words. It was only after the memory began to re-stabilize that he came up with a response.

"I think that maybe, you simply deserved it."

The two kissed once again.

Perhaps, it really was that easy.

* * *

The new memory-scape appeared as a completely different environment. For one, it was on a ship. The wood creaked above the waves of a mighty ocean, crashing around as the storm relentlessly battered the sides of the vessel with large drops of rain. Upon its deck were three figures. The dark cloaked one was at the very front, gazing intently at the path ahead. The other two were by the steering wheel. The man of the two was struggling to control the ship's rudder as it was pushed and pulled by the churning waters, while his loyal wife stood holding on to his arm for support.

The both of them had a look of dread upon their faces, devastated by the loss of their son. The hooded redhead still had dried tear paths in her cheeks. Her husband stared hatefully toward the precursor at the bow of the vessel. Not a word was uttered for a long time. At long last though, Finn's mother spoke.

"Are we far out enough yet?"

The blonde man nodded firmly.

"Yes. No land for 50 miles in all directions."

His wife reflected the nod and looked straight into her husband's blue eyes.

"For our child…"

He gazed back, taking one hand off the wheel to grasp the delicate frame of his love, bringing her into an embrace which she returned immediately.

"For our child…"

Finn and Flame Princes watched silently as the young man's parents suddenly stepped back from the helm, instantly causing the ship to begin dancing around on the waves. Astrum momentarily lost his balance and fell to the deck, only to get back up and angrily look back to the two humans.

"What do you think you are doing?!"

The parents held a spiteful gaze on the precursor as they descended down both sides of the upper deck, closing in on the dark being. Astrum came into a defensive stance.

"You think you can just walk up and kill me? What of your son?"

The blonde man pulled out his claymore while also tossing his wife a second sheathed weapon that he was rearing behind his waist. She pulled out the blade an aimed it at the menace.

"We gave our lives to protect him the moment we left the docks. We have fully sacrificed our blood to make sure you will never step another foot closer to anyone that you could harm."

The two were now standing before Astrum, flanking him on both sides. The precursor simply slid out his own weapon and reached up to his hood. Finn watched closely as the man revealed his face. The hero gasped, as did his fiancée.

"He…he looks nothing like he did in the nightosphere."

FP's statement was spot on. Astrum's hair was jet black, with a large set of bangs framing the sides of his face. His glaring eyes were blood red and his skin tone was extremely white. Finn at first was in disbelief; however, he suddenly recognized the features of his enemy.

"That face, it's the same one as one of the victims he killed."

Flame Princess looked to her partner, wide eyed.

"What!?"

The young man nodded.

"I can remember it clearly. The face he's wearing belonged to one of the precursors he killed in our cycle."

The two teens returned to carefully watching the confrontation on the deck. Finn's parents were slowly inching closer to their foe, preparing to strike. Astrum just narrowed his eyes.

"He will die, just as you will."

The freckled woman scoffed.

"It doesn't matter. You won't be able to reach shore any time soon. You will perish alongside us one way or another."

Her husband added in.

"And I have been to Ooo before, he will be safe. There are many caring and compassionate inhabitants on the continent. I have confidence that our boy will be found."

Astrum scowled, realizing there was no way out of this one. He was now stranded in the ocean, untrained in the art of ship sailing. His rage began to build as his enemies closed in further.

A moment later, he lost it, charging at the crimson haired lady with his sword intent on slicing her head off. The woman surprisingly didn't attempt to evade. At the last second however, she lowered herself down in a flash and shot her fist into the precursor's stomach, causing him to couch up blood and drop his weapon.

The female human then kicked the dark being aside, forcing him into the railing of the ship. She flipped her sword around, preparing to impale the vile entity through his head.

"You were gravely mistaken to think I was weak enough to attack without hesitation. I just managed to break several of your ribs."

The precursor coughed up more fluids as the redhead thrust her blade forward, closing in on its target. Astrum appeared to have given up, simply lying there waiting for the end. Horrifically, what he had up his sleeve would devastate his opponent.

Before the killer blow could be struck, a loud crack rang through the air, making everyone aboard, including the viewing Finn and Flame Princess, to freeze and stare at the young man's mother. She was frozen in place, her eyes wide as her sword hung in midair, unable to continue with the act.

Looking down, she saw a spring of blood leaking out of a hole in her dress. Her body struggled to stay up as she backed away. A second later, the lady collapsed onto the deck of the ship. Her husband ran to her and brought the mother into his arms.

"No! No, this can't be happening! My love…"

He began weeping as his wife weakly placed her shaking hand on his cheek. A weak smile came to her features.

"It's alright, remember, we knew we were going to die here."

The man shook his head.

"But I don't want to watch you die right in my arms. I can't just lose you."

The woman took hold of her man's hand and squeezed it as best she could using her remaining strength. The blonde man looked deep into her dying eyes. She was fading fast. All he could do was hold her tightly to his chest, hoping that she would leave peacefully.

Finn was in tears once more, watching his mother slip away without being able to do anything about it. His ever loyal fiancée was still clinging strongly to his body, refusing to un-coil her arms from the hero's lower torso.

Astrum meanwhile, managed to stand up from the floor and weakly take a step toward his fallen foes. In his hand was a firearm, sleek and deadly. As he took another step forward, he raised the weapon to aim at the blonde man's head. The human, in turn, looked at him with a stare of cold hatred and rage. The precursor narrowed his eyes.

"Too much suffering on the inside will degrade your skill on the outside."

Finn's father grabbed the claymore lying nearby and swung the massive blade swiftly through the air, slicing Astrum's lethal weaponry out of his hand, sending it over the railing and into the ocean below.

As the man changed the direction of the sword's swing back down to slash the dark being, the vile entity suddenly grabbed the weapon's blade with his bare hand. The father was stunned. A second later, the metal shattered, leaving nothing but a stub at the end of the hilt.

Finn's father felt a great strike in his heart, which shot blistering pain through his body as Astrum had hit a pressure point on the man's chest. Unable to continue, he fell to his knees defeated. As the human's head hung and the ruined weapon still lay in his hands, the precursor picked up his sword, laying it against the fallen opponent's neck.

"You have failed."

Silence for a moment, then, astoundingly, a laugh. Finn's old man was quietly chuckling, gazing into the ground with his eyes filled with tears. He raised his head and looked hard into Astrum's red eyes. His grin remained as he lifted and pointed the hilt of his destroyed claymore at the pitch black being.

"You just won't admit it to yourself; you have no hope of leaving this sea."

The man continued to laugh as Asturm's rage boiled. The precursor was indeed bluffing to himself. Here he was, stranded on a swirling ship in the middle of nowhere, killing the only one who knew how to steed the vessel. His arm shook with the need to silence the human who was mocking him. The vile figure raised his sword, prepared to execute the foe before it.

"Don't you dare mock me! HUMAN!"

Time slowed as Finn's father smiled wider. He reached out his hand and found his wife's, still weak as she barely held on to what little energy she had left. But it was enough. He remembered what she had told him earlier, as they were planning to turn against Astrum.

_When the time comes, do not hesitate. Use every ounce of my strength to end the bastard._

The blonde man closed his eyes and focused, concentrating in his heartbeat and that of his beloved. He firmly held the hilt in his hand as he performed his final strike on the precursor before him.

"Reverse…Catalyst."

A bright flash occurred as Finn and Flame Princess observed the young man's mother glow vibrantly before her energy was shifted within her husband's body and finally into the remains of the weapon.

Astrum's attack was halted. He looked down at the now restored claymore, which was stuck deep in his chest. Foolishly, he recoiled, tearing the flesh that was combined with the weapon's blade that had reformed within his own body. He let out a painful scream as Finn's father grinned triumphantly at the grievously wounded precursor.

"Burn in hell you son of a bitch."

Losing consciousness fast, Astrum reacted on instinct, throwing himself at the blonde man and causing them both to tumble to the ground. The dark being gripped the human's throat while the man struggled to free himself. The vile entity stared daggers at his trapped foe. Within seconds, a strange aura was consuming both individuals.

Finn and FP watched in horror as the young man's dad began to shrivel and weaken, while at the same time, Astrum's form began to shift. His black hair turned blonde, his skin tone darkened, and his eyes switched to a deep ocean blue. His face reconstructed itself to match his victim entirely, who stared wide eyed at the being with shock.

Fully healed by absorbing his foe's essence, Astrum tossed the dying man aside, who landed near his wife. With great effort, the couple brought their hands together one final time. The shriveled man spoke in a slur as he smiled at his wife.

"I'm sorry dear, I failed."

The barely conscious woman shook her head slightly.

"No, you did the best you could. For that, you succeeded in every way."

Both humans focused their final drops of strength into grasping each other's hand. Eventually, their eyes closed, their breathing halted, and their hearts were silent. Finn fell to his knees, looking at the motionless figures of his parents, who died united as their last act of love. The hero was sobbing harshly at this point, unable to hold back the pain and devastation he felt in his heart.

Flame Princess got to her knees and held on to the human's body, wanting desperately to stay connected to him while he let his misery pour out. The two teenagers were so lost in their agony that they didn't notice Astrum's roar of anger as he finally accepted that he would wander the ocean for what was likely many years.

"AAAAGGGHHHH!"

The memory collapsed.

* * *

Finn and FP's cuddled forms reappeared in the zero gravity of the _Iaculis_, still bonded tightly by their suffering. Eventually, they managed to pull themselves apart to look each other in the eyes.

"Finn, I'm so sorry."

The fiery girl wiped away several tears flowing down her man's face. He closed his eyes afterwards.

"I needed the truth, and that's what I got. There's no use in denying that."

The human looked back at one of the dark tinted gems in the wall. It showed Astrum sucking the energy out of another precursor.

"And, now I know what he really is."

Mem-o was still patiently waiting nearby. The young man turned to the keeper and gave the being a small bow.

"Thank you Mem-o, you've done more than you know. We're grateful."

The hologram nodded.

"I am glad I could be of assistance. But if I may, I too am sorry for your loss."

The keeper suddenly pulled out a new section of files, scanning through them intently until he verified several data points. He returned his attention to the human.

"In case this offers any peace, you end up living in Ooo in 96% of all known universes. Of those, only 13% follow the death of your parents."

Finn stared deep in thought for a minute, taking in the information. Then he nodded to the hologram and took hold of Flame Princess's hand, entwining their fingers.

"Thanks Mem-o. That makes it…easier."

With that, the two activated their Citadel insignias, dissipating and leaving the presence of the _Palatium Iaculis._

* * *

The gang was anxiously awaiting the return of their young couple, passing the time by striking up random conversations. The three precursors and PB were still discussing the Shard of Evil, while everyone else mingled here and there. All talk ceased however as tow bright lights began to materialize in the central chamber.

A moment later, the forms of Finn and Flame Princess appeared before the group. Relieved, they all rushed over and surrounded the two arrivals.

"Finn! FP! Are you alright?"

"Where were you guys?"

"What were you doing?"

"Did you sneak back to Ooo and steal my last sandwich in the fridge?"

The human held up his hand to quiet his friends as he let go of the fire elemental's hand and walked past them all to get to the precursors. He looked to the Ancestral Flame and spoke.

"Solara, when you last encountered Astrum, before the Nightosphere, what powers did he not use?"

The angelic woman thought for a minute.

"Well, he didn't have a fourth dimension, he didn't momentarily disrupt time, and I don't think he could regenerate injuries at high speeds."

Sentin stepped forward.

"What are you getting at Finn?"

Finn asked a side note.

"Have any of you ever seen his actual face?"

The three shook their heads. Understanding the beings' confusion, the hero turned to the archivist.

"Index, do you have a file on the life forms that existed in Astrum's cycle?"

The spherical being nodded with a bit of confusion, but telekinetically floated over an entry from the archive and slid it into a processor, which popped up a holo-file.

"Yes but, I have never found his species. We assumed he was a time-space manipulator."

The young man shook his head and went to the file. He began sliding around various articles, looking for the right one. After what seemed like hours of searching and his friends staring at him with curiosity, the human found the right document and enlarged it so that the whole group could see.

"Astrum doesn't have any powers of his own. He **steals **them from other precursors. Throughout his time in the cycles he's been hunting down several of them and absorbing their essence, effectively taking on their appearance as he does so."

The hero looked to the ground.

"That's why he looks so much like me. His last victim…was my dad."

The audience gasped and stood shocked, disbelieving in what the young man had just said. Finn motioned to the file he had brought up, depicting a humanoid entity with nothing but a blank silhouette as its body.

"Astrum is not a space-time manipulator, but something far worse. He's a Siphoner."

* * *

**_Aside from the praise to WWKC121 for his creative dimension, those of you reading SCIK's 'TAU: Amaranth' probably noticed the other tribute in this chapter._**

**_Also, some of you might think I'm putting in a excessive amount of sad and destructive events. This is true. But rest assured, each bit of pain has a meaning that will reveal itself in the big finale. And don't worry things will lighten up significantly at this point. Hang in there guys and please try not to hate me._**

**_Hope you enjoyed and please review!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 25: Awaiting Disaster


	25. Chapter 25: Awaiting Disaster

Chapter 25: Awaiting Disaster

Flame Princess sat along the edge of a small stream in the Citadel's rocky outskirts, having gone out to enjoy the magnificence of the temple like she had wanted to earlier. Her hand was held out into the crystal clear water; enjoying the strange feeling it gave her fiery skin. It was still weird to her, being able to make contact with the dreaded substance. However, she recalled that she could touch the liquid form the Citadel even before Finn got his desire. Heck, she had drank some of it!

As the fire elemental pondered the attributes of the mysterious streams around the fortress, Solara came up from behind and quietly sat next to the girl, making just enough noise so as to not startle her. FP gave the woman a greeting smile then looked back to the water. The Ancestral Flame noticed her curious eyes and smiled back.

"Wondering about the water, are you?"

Flame Princess nodded, continuing to run her fingers through the flow. Solara took her own hand and dipped it in, feeling the refreshing coolness of the hydrating element.

"Do you know what's special about it?" the fiery princess asked.

The angelic entity sighed a little, as if she had been asked the question before, or perhaps wondered herself at some point.

"I honestly don't know. Strange that I don't but there you have it."

FP was indeed surprised. Here sat the oldest living being and she didn't have a clue as to the defying principles of the river network running through the Citadel. The girl decided not to dwell too much or pester the precursor further; she was too busy enjoying that which no other of her kind could.

"Do you think I can touch **normal** water?"

Solara looked curiously at the young ruler, and then broke out a small chuckle.

"Well, I'd say it's been one of the things between you and Finn, and in that regard I would say you should be able to."

Flame Princess was in deep thought at this point, wondering how she could enjoy the freedom her man had given her. The first thing to come to mind was swimming. Finn had never really shown an interest (due to previous issues with the ocean) but now not only had he gotten past that but she could come alongside him. The girl smiled then turned to Solara.

"Have you ever been swimming before?"

The precursor was a bit caught off guard by the question but quickly recovered and let out a small laugh.

"Haha. Yes in fact. There have been many cycles where physics allow direct contact between fire and water. It's quite the feeling I tell you; very refreshing and relaxing. I know that there's no need for it since we're made of fire but you also feel cleaner, rejuvenated, like someone has peeled off all the gunk on your skin."

Solara leaned back and sighed happily.

"All this talk about it has gotten me excited for the next cycle. Maybe I can enjoy the feeling again."

Looking over, the woman saw that Flame Princess was frowning. It took a minute, but the angelic lady figured out her poor word choice.

"I'm sorry dear; I didn't mean it like that."

FP shook her head and looked back to the stream.

"No it's not what you think. I'm happy you'll be able to experience that, it's just…I've been thinking…about the whole 'precursor' thing."

Solara curiously turned to face the young fire elemental, who gazed back into the entity's eyes.

"It seems like so many of you are sad and lonely. You just sort of wander the multiverse, finding whatever you can to occupy your limitless time."

The Ancestral Flame's eyes widened a little, understanding what FP was inquiring. The woman looked up into the cosmos surrounding the Citadel, seeing numerous galaxies and stars free from any other dimension.

"It's true I'm afraid. The vast majority of precursors have quite a miserable existence. We were all ripped from our very way of life, our people, our homes; even our physical laws were taken away as the new cycle arrived."

Flame Princess was intently listening to the saddened tale. She reached out and took Solara's hand, trying to comfort the poor lady. The white entity smiled, grateful for the support.

"It's people like you, Finn, and all your friends that make each cycle worth it. To have such amazing companions is all that a precursor could ask for. Someone to be there."

The Flame chuckled all of a sudden.

"He won't admit it, but I think that's the reason Sentin offered you to stay here. You all have strong hearts filled with compassion. It would be a crime shame for all of it to go to waste."

FP gave a hard look, studying the beautiful mountain range nearby.

"What about family? Can precursors have one?"

Solara froze at the question, unable to respond for a short time. Then, she lowered her head and frowned. The princess felt bad now for the reaction she'd caused.

"No. Although the… act of 'procreation'…"

She blushed a bit.

"…is perfectly possible, the ability to have children is not. Precursors' fertility sterilizes once their cycle ends. Females in particular feel a great pain at this fact. Many of the ones I have found in the past were never old enough to become a mother. And they never will."

The angelic woman began to cry. Flame Princess scooted closer and placed an arm around the lady's shoulders.

"I feel terrible every time I run into a young girl who has been tragically thrown into the depths of a new universe, unable to raise a bundle of joy of her own, even if she does somehow find a partner to be with."

The precursor lifted her head up and looked to FP.

"In the vast expanse of the multiverse, even finding someone to love is a monumental task. Never once have I encountered a couple while scouring the cosmos."

She laid her head into her knees, which she had brought up when she started her sobbing. The fire elemental stayed close by, knowing that people like Solara had gone through more hell than anyone could ever imagine.

"The worst part is…I have, for the most part, accomplished both of these restrictions. Anything I create with my flames grows a consciousness, a free will of its own, however limited. I enjoy the freedom I grant them, including the fire elementals that are born in every cycle. They are all my children and I have deep love for all of them."

Flame Princess leaned in and gave her distant grandmother a hug, showing that she did indeed appreciate what the Ancestral Flame had given her. Solara managed to return the embrace, still dropping some tears.

"Well I definitely am thankful for my life. And I know every other fire elemental is too."

The precursor tightened her grip on the fiery girl.

"Thank you princess, it is not often that I get to hear it directly from someone."

The two separated and looked into the flowing stream, which gently carried the stainless water down the cliffs and over the edge of the Citadel's falls.

"So, you had someone?"

Solara forgot she had mentioned that and sadly looked to the stars above.

"Many cycles ago, I made a friend with whom I had much in common. We both traveled, we both had a fair bit of immaturity, and we both wished we could somehow help our fellow precursors."

FP ventured further, interested by the story.

"Was he ever more than just a friend?"

Solara surprisingly smirked.

"Somewhere in my heart, I think I felt a stronger connection to him. He was kind and sweet, always listening to whatever I said and happily sharing his tales of adventure when we met."

The precursor grew a few new tears in her eyes.

"Sadly, everyone eventually faces the cruelty of the multiverse. The longer you live, the more chance for you to suffer."

Flame Princess maintained her hand on the woman's back, still willing to listen.

"What happened to him?"

Solara's mystical white tears splashed into the rock ledge, evaporating with a quiet wisp of blue.

"Astrum…"

FP's heart felt a sting. Her eyes trembled as the fiery lady next to her desperately attempted to hold back another downpour. The young ruler now understood the ferocity her friend had shown during her battle against the vile being. She embraced the Flame once more.

"I'm sorry Solara."

The woman controller herself.

"No, it's alright. It's healthy to let it out every once in a while. Keep the memory alive; remember what you're fighting for."

Her resolve coming back, Solara managed to crack a small smile to her friend, who returned the expression with difficulty.

"It's always more important to be happy. Make the most of the time at your disposal. I, sadly, will never know this lesson better than you."

Flame Princess stood up and helped the angelic entity to her feet as well.

"If you really think that, then don't feel so terrible that you can do things other precursors can't. One day, you might just find a way to help your people find a place in existence, no matter what cycle it is."

The two ladies shared one last grin before a sudden blaring went off in the distance. They spun their heads toward the Citadel. Solara had a nervous look upon her face.

"What is that?" Flame Princess asked with a hint of panic.

The precursor drew a hard expression.

"The dimensional alarm. Something isn't the way it should be. Come on."

She gestured for the girl to follow as she shot herself into the air. FP stayed close behind, wondering what could be happening.

* * *

Flying up the stairs, the two fiery beings hurried with all the speed they could muster, not wanting to miss the important call to attention. Upon reaching the top of the landing, both ladies slowed their momentum and landed cleanly on the floor. The entire gang saw them come in and waved them over. Apparently everyone else was in the fortress when the alarm was set off.

"What's going on Index?"

Solara walked up to the mechanical keeper with an expression of concern. Her friend motioned to the hologram the orb had expanded to fill the center of the room.

"Astrum has begun attempting to override their dimension's space-time nexus."

FP and Solara's eyes grew wide as they received the news.

"What!? But he doesn't even have enough Shards to remove all the divine influence."

Sentin stepped forward.

"Apparently, Astrum did not know the correct number of deities he would have to corrupt. Once he realizes that he cannot create a wormhole to Eternity he will assume his mistake and continue the search for the fourth Shard."

Everyone began murmuring as Index floated to the center of attention. The being cleared his throat to calm the crowd.

"This presents a troubling issue. Astrum can sense the Shards energy. He will, eventually, find out it is here at the Citadel. However, he can obviously not attack us head on; no matter how strong he might be he could never punch through all of us and break into the fortress himself. And the temporal shielding around the temple prevents any spacial rifts from allowing entrance to more than a single individual at once."

The archivist crossed his arms.

"He cannot bring in backup, he cannot go it alone. So if he makes a move, it will be something none of us will expect. We have to be ready."

The group nodded in agreement. Princess Bubblegum spoke up.

"It's probably best if all of us return to Ooo. There may be adverse reactions to Astrum's attempted override. We should be wary of any damages to our dimension."

The gang of friends nodded again. Index hovered nearer.

"With any luck princess, you'll be able to find a way to destroy the shards for good. The Citadel is incredible but it lacks appropriate scientific equipment. I'm sure your own facilities will provide much more effective research."

PB agreed and motioned for her friends to activate their insignias. As everyone's symbols glowed, the Ooocians waved a farewell to their precursor allies.

* * *

The group reappeared right in front of the tree fort, still standing empty and waiting for its usual inhabitant sot return. After several goodbyes, the team separated and went to their respective homes. By the time all had been said and done, Finn, Jake, and Flame Princes were the only ones left.

The yellow dog turned to his bro and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Listen dude, I should really be getting back to Lady. She's probably worried sick, and mad too now that I think of it."

Finn raised his hand and smiled.

"I understand bro. Go to her, she needs her man."

Jake Grinned widely and gave the human a fist bump. He then grew 50 feet tall and began making the journey back to his wife. As he gained some significant distance from the tree house, he turned back and cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Don't do anything irresponsible you two!"

The young couple blushed before giving a stern look to the ever shrinking dog, who laughed to himself as he disappeared over the horizon. Once Jake was out of sight, Flame Princess looked into the sky, seeing where the sun was.

"Looks like it's around noon. I better go check on the kingdom to make sure nothing stupid has happened again."

She turned to Finn.

"You in?"

The young man thought for a moment before gazing sadly back at his fiancée.

"I'd love to FP but I've got some stuff to take care of at home."

The princess was highly disappointed at this and frowned. The hero noticed the saddened mood and attempted to rectify it.

"But you're welcome to come back when you're done at the palace."

He smiled hopefully at the girl, waiting for the response. To his delight, she smiled back and walked up to hug him. He gladly accepted and wrapped his arms around the fire elemental, enjoying both the warmth of her flames and the warmth of their hearts. They held on for a good few minutes before FP broke it off.

"That sounds nice. I'll be over later."

She leaned her head forward and reached for Finn's lips, which he graciously offered to her as they connected in a loving kiss. After separating, the two stood with their foreheads pressed against each other.

"I love you Finn."

The human held her closer.

"I love you too FP."

With a final goodbye, the couple split and Finn watched his beautiful lady fly off into the clear sky, leaving behind a wonderful trial of flames that slowly dissipated into the air. The young man watched the spectacle until he could no longer see the fiery girl. With that, he turned and walked into his house.

It was terribly empty, as it felt from the outside as well. Finn strolled into the kitchen and laid his pack down by the table, taking his infinity sword with him as he climbed the stairs to his room. Upon entering the humble abode, the human walked over and slung the weapon onto the holder over his bed and stood back admiring the cobalt blade.

_I can't wait to smash Astrum in the face with this thing._

Grinning, Finn then left the room to go about his daily business of keeping the house in order, which at the moment included checking for cracks in the wood and weak supports in the inner trunk. Maintenance was really a bother to him, as this was a routine he had to perform once a week.

As the human proceeded up a ladder he had leaned on the house, he smiled to himself, thinking how much easier it would be once he lived in the Fire Kingdom palace with his beloved. At least there he would be able to use alchemy to simply repair any damages to the fairly basic structure and materials of the building. The tree fort was, unfortunately, constructed into quite the elaborate home, with many curves and delicate sections of wall and support that would normally collapse under the strain of a transmutation.

Finn sighed.

_Boy am I going to enjoy the break we get once that psycho is taken down._

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time the hero finished touching up the heavily degraded exterior of the house. He was so exhausted in fact, that he had fallen asleep on the roof, not having the energy to even crawl through the window and lie on the floor where at least he'd be protected from the elements.

Lucky for him, the evening sky showed no signs of rain, wind, or even a knife storm. He peacefully remained passed out on the green surface of the fort's topside for several hours, not even once waking up to see what time it was.

Eventually though, the human managed to snap out of his slumber and groggily got to his feet, taking a big yawn.

_Shoot. How long was I out?_

Looking at the sky, Finn saw it was straight night out. He frowned, upset that all that time had gone to waste. Sadly, he made his way to the ladder and climbed down with a slightly slow pace, worried he might hurt himself if he fell from this height due to still being a little woozy.

As his feet reached the ground, Finn realized just how numb his joints were, as he nearly fell over from the landing. Shaking his head in an attempt to throw aside his blurry vision the young man stumbled to the door, taking a minute to find the door knob. Once inside, he could swear he was feeling something strange on his hand, but was still too dazed to worry about it.

_Maybe a nice cold shower will slap some sense into me._

Acting on a good hunch, the human slowly made his way up the ladder to the bathroom, trying very hard not to lose his weak grip and fall all the way back down. It was a hard task but not impossible. He continued to feel the strange sensation on his hand however. He hoped that a bee had not gotten the idea to sting him while he was knocked out on the roof.

Reaching the right landing, Finn gave up on walking and crawled on his hands and knees toward the bathroom. The feeling on his hand only grew stronger. As the young man neared the door, he saw that there was light coming out from beneath the space between it and the floor. His eyes went wide as some focus returned to him.

_Oh great. I'm passed out for a few hours and somebody breaks in to use the can. I really should get some kind of locks on the place._

Crawling nearer to the room however, the human suddenly heard running water. He grew more irritated.

_And they're using my shower! That's it, when they walk out, I'm gonna wonk them on the head!_

Realistically, the exhausted hero didn't have the energy to even fight off a pigeon if one had the mind to attack him. Realizing the dilemma, Finn sighed and dragged himself right in front of the door, letting his drained body fall flat on the wooden floor. He let out an agitated breath, knowing he might just end up getting beat up by whoever was inside his bathroom, and possibly also robbed, and humiliated as well. After all, for one of the greatest heroes in Ooo to be stolen from as he lay helpless on the ground was indeed something to laugh at.

As the young man was contemplating his awful positioning, the water turned off and the being inside took a minute to apparently dry off. The human frowned, awaiting the expected laughter from the intruder at the pathetic stance he was it. As the door was swung open however, his face instantly dropped to a dumbfounded and completely flabbergasted expression.

Standing in the doorway, shaking off the last bits of water still clinging to her gorgeous crimson hair, and wearing only a towel around herself, was Flame Princess. The fiery girl waved her locks around a few more seconds and finally opened her golden eyes, giving a refreshing sigh as she proceeded to step out of the bathroom. Of course, she immediately stopped when she noticed the half-passed out human lying on the floor.

What followed was an extremely loud scream that Finn could have sworn shattered an eardrum or two. He regretted that he couldn't cover his poor sound holes but was even more regretful of how red his face was and how badly his position must have looked to the fire elemental standing before him.

"FINN! WHAT THE BJORK ARE YOU DOING?!"

FP immediately held her arms in front of her covered form, turning quite red herself as her face was consumed by absolute surprise and embarrassment. The exhausted young man summoned unknown strength to hold his arms up into the air and shake them as much as he could. He also put great effort into making his voice sound as urgent as he could.

"Flame Princess it's not what you think! I was passed out on the roof and when I came in I thought someone had broken into the house and I couldn't keep myself up anymore and fell over in front of the bathroom!"

He spoke, surprisingly, very fast for someone with his current level of energy. Sadly, his arms ran out of steam again a moment later and fell with a clunk onto the floor. It was no different than if the hero was chained to the floor. He couldn't move whatsoever.

Meanwhile, FP slowly inched her way back over to the collapsed young man, still nervous about her lack of appropriate coverage. She was relieved when she saw that Finn was so dazed he was just staring at the ceiling. His blue eyes were rolling around in his sockets, unable to focus clearly on anything. He tried to speak again, but being out of breath for the moment, all that came out was basically gibberish.

"Pwez don kill mweee effpea. I swearzies I'zzz din no was yousss…."

Flame Princess couldn't help it, she burst out laughing, impossibly trying to contain the need to react to her man's hysterical antics. The best Finn could do to show his confusion was tilt his head slightly, wondering why the fiery girl wasn't burning him alive or at the least giving him a good kick in the stomach. FP eventually couldn't keep herself on her feet with her hysteria, sinking to her knees next to the human's head.

At long last, she calmed down and managed to look at her fiancé with a straight face, albeit still holding a massive grin on her sweet lips . She gazed into his barely open eyes as she began running her fingers through several strands of golden hair that were sticking out from his hat.

"It's ok Finn. I understand you've always got to be the big 'tough guy' and protect your turf, even if you can't move."

The girl giggled, still recovering from the laugh-fest she had earlier. Finn just struggled to hold his eyes on her amber ones, which were reflected in his black pupils. The effect caused the ocean colored gaze to appear so benevolent, making Flame Princess stare even deeper into them. Slowly, she leaned down and placed her upside down lips against his, which he was unable to react to beyond tightening the muscles in his mouth so as to not leave his lady hanging.

Raising her head back up, FP gently pulled the hero up to her lap, stroking his cheeks as he continued to lose consciousness. Somehow, he gave out a small grin.

"Wow…the warmth of your thighs feels nice against my neck."

Flame Princess blushed when she remembered how little of her legs were covered by the towel, but then again, Finn was in no position to question her attire. The poor young man was now intently looking at the door frame above. He noticed a large crack in the wood, causing him to make a small gasp. FP gave a concerned look.

"What's wrong Finn?"

The human frowned.

"That time I was asleep…I didn't get the chance to do the **interior **repairs."

Before FP could ask why he had brought up the subject, the door frame cracked more and a good sized piece of wood fell from the damaged portion of the wall. It lightly conked Finn on the head, nearly knocking him out for good.

"Finn!"

Flame Princess got up and dragged the human away from the crumbled frame and, after managed to get her hands under his arms, pulled him slowly into his bedroom across the hall. Once inside, she used a great deal of effort into lifting the hero onto his bed. She groaned, wishing again that the young man wasn't so heavy.

_Darn muscles, with their weight and their size…and strength…and attractiveness…and WHAT!_

The fire elemental shook her head rapidly, trying to shake out both the thoughts and the crimson coloring of her cheeks. Sitting down next to her love, she gently slid off his hat and placed it on the night stand, then giving him one last kiss on the cheek before he finally passed out.

"Goodnight Finn, I love you."

The human couldn't make a smile but managed to blurt out, likely out of delusion from the blow to his head, a single sentence.

"Goodnight Flame Princess, I love you too and you're soooo hot…."

He was out, leaving a dangerously red FP sitting next to him. Determined to shake off the embarrassment, she stood up and went over to the other side of the room, thinking to herself.

_Hm. Well, acting like a human was fun, especially the shower. Solara was right about that rejuvenated feeling. I guess the last thing to do is get dressed like one._

While the princess was busy getting ready for bed, Finn was talking to himself in the space between sleep and awake, somewhat of a limbo state. His physical face formed a proud smile.

_Good job Finn, you avoided an accidental tier 12. Thank Glob I was too zoned out to let my eyes wander._

While the human was savoring the preservation of his righteous, the ceiling of his room began to crack. A few chips of wood fell down onto the young man's face, tickling his nose. It didn't stir him, but what happened next definitely would.

A large chunk of the wooden flooring above gave way, falling fast and striking the hero between his legs. Unfortunately, his nerves didn't need his permission to react. The shock caused him to instantly spring up and knock his head on the infinity sword hanging above. This was clearly a bad day for his cranium; he'd be surprised if he didn't get brain damage. Aside from the expected shout of pain for both his crotch and head injuries, there was also another loud scream from the other side of the room.

Instinctually, Finn's eyes flashed open, looking directly forward for a split second. Even that was enough to make his face gather up all the blood in his body. For the final time, the human's head fell back down to the pillow underneath. One last thought moved through his head as darkness enveloped his mind.

_What was that saying Marcy told me about one time? Oh yeah…Murphy's Law._

* * *

When Finn next woke up it was morning. Several things were different. For one, there was a layer of bandages around the top of his head, which still ached a bit from the relentless beatings it took the night before. Another difference was the lack of his sword hanging from the wall. Looking around, he spotted it by the cabinet where Jake used to sleep. It easily rested against the wooden drawers, not bothering anyone. Finn frowned.

_I guess I've been too paranoid with the whole idea of keeping a weapon within reaching distance at __**all**__ times._

The human groaned as he got up from his bed, realizing his whole body was sore. He became worried that he'd be useless to his friends if Astrum showed up.

"No way! I'll always be ready to punch that guy's lights out!"

The self-pep talk helped, allowing him to stretch out his arms and legs and give his neck a few cracks. Once his joints were moving again, he heard a light knock near the entrance to the room. Spinning around, Finn found himself facing Flame princess, who was leaning against the doorframe, a stoic look upon her face. The human instantly felt several beads of sweat gather on his neck.

"Fl-Flame Princess, uh, good morning."

He stuttered a bit and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to avoid eye contact. FP strolled into the room and stood in front of the hero, who still refused to look her in the amber gaze. He tried to come up with an apology.

"Listen I know I messed up bad last night and I'm really sorry and I totally understand if you want some time apart in addition to throwing me through a few walls or burning my butt off or whatever you might think of t-"

He was interrupted as the fiery girl threw herself into him, wrapping her arms around the young man's back and holding on tightly. Finn was completely lost, disbelieving that this was the response to his blundering. He only managed to spit out the next sentences in chunks.

"How…could you…just…hug me? Not even…like a slap…or something?"

Flame Princess raised he head to look the human in the eyes. Her expression was one of concern. The hero didn't know what to say. Finally, she spoke.

"Finn, you got hurt a lot. I was worried. I tried waking you up several times this morning but you wouldn't even twitch. I could barely sleep at all last night, thinking that there was just some dead person next to me."

The human's eyes shot wide open.

"You, slept in my bed?"

The fire elemental gazed into his blue eyes, still holding the look of concern.

"Of course I did, I love you and always what to be right there next to you."

Finn had apparently missed a whole section of the 'logic' rulebook, or perhaps a newer section of the 'love conquers all' handbook. Either way, he was touched that the incident had been forgiven in light of his wellbeing. Finally, he managed to smile.

"Wow, that means a lot FP."

The girl smiled back giving her man a quick kiss before finally releasing her hold on him.

"Come on dummy, let's go eat breakfast."

Finn just stood there as the princess began to walk toward the doorway. She stopped when she noticed the young man wasn't following. She turned and crossed her arms, giving the human an irritated stare.

"Finn, come on. I'm like crazy hungry."

The hero remained standing. He looked nervously at the ground.

"I still think…you should hit me or something."

The fire elemental groaned and walked back over to the stubborn guy.

"You've taken enough hits for one day, or more like a week's worth. Just let it go Finn, I'm not mad, it wasn't your fault."

The human still stood vigilantly.

"Sorry FP, but my righteous heart demands a consequence."

Another groan escaped the fiery girl's mouth as she rolled her eyes. She began looking around the room, trying to spot something to satisfy his need for a punishment. Finally, she spotted a rather large object on a shelf nearby. The fire elemental grinned, making Finn a bit nervous. He didn't look however, as FP strolled over and picked up an object that sounded fairly heavy.

At first he thought the girl was going to drop a few bricks on him, but this was disproved when a massive text was thrown down at his feet. On its cover was the Fire Kingdom emblem. The human looked at the book with curiosity, wondering where it came from. Flame Princess crossed her arms and smirked.

"I brought this over for you to study bit by bit. But since you're so desperate to take some pain, I'm having you read the **entire **code of laws for the Fire Kingdom. And trust me, I'll know if you skipped pages. I had to read it myself a few years ago."

Finn gazed at the text with disbelief then shifted the look to his lady. She held the smirk for another moment, then turned and walked off.

"Flame Princess…." the human whined from behind her.

She just smiled.

_At least he can do something productive._

* * *

**_I really appreciate you guys bearing with me on all the grammar errors in these chapters. Thing is I submit these literally the minute before I go to sleep so there's not really time to proofread._**

**_Hope you enjoyed and please review!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 26: The Honorable King


	26. Chapter 26: The Honorable King

Chapter 26: The Honorable King

Jake was leisurely walking over to the tree fort, whistling a tune as he neared the giant wooden house. Reaching the front door, he knocked loudly a few times and waited for his bro to answer. Surprisingly, to him at least, it was Flame Princess who opened up and greeted the yellow dog with a smile.

"Morning Jake, come on in."

The fire elemental gestured for the guest to come in, which he did so without asking why she was at Finn's place. Moving into the kitchen, he immediately got into the fridge and begun looking for a sandwich, sticking his whole stretchy upper body into the freezing container. As FP went over to the stove, where she had been cooking bacon and eggs, the magical dog struck up a (rather muffled) conversation.

"So what are you doing here FP? Didn't you ever go back to the Fire Kingdom to check up?"

The fiery girl flipped over the meat strips in the skillet.

"Yeah, but afterward I came back here. Honestly, it feels too lonely now without Finn nearby."

Jake found his delicious creation and reformed his body out of the fridge, taking a bite as he walked over to the table and took a seat.

"Heh heh, that's my bro, can't keep the ladies away."

Flame Princess smirked and rolled her eyes. The canine grinned.

"Soooo, did you kids have fun with your little sleepover?"

The flames from the stove suddenly exploded up, causing FP to flinch and nearly drop the breakfast she was making. Stuttering, she responded while giving Jake an astonished look.

"W-what?! Who ever said I stayed overnight?"

Finn's bro-ham laughed.

"You just did!"

The fiery girl grew a little irritated as the dog continued to crack up from his reverse psychology. Her face grew a bit red as she returned to the bacon and eggs, getting the stove back to a normal sized fire.

"So where is Finn anyway?"

Flame Princess finished her cooking and placed the items on two plates, carrying them over to the table and setting them down.

"He's…busy."

Jake raised an eyebrow.

"With what?"

Flame Princess nervously took some bacon and began eating the delicious strip. In between chews, she hastily answered back.

"Reading."

At this, the dog nearly choked on the food still being ground up in his mouth. After taking a minute to clear his throat, he looked back with a questioning look at the fire elemental.

"What?! You made bacon and eggs, it's chow time, and he's **reading**?"

Jake put down his sandwich and crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at the young queen in front of him.

"What's going on here?"

Flame Princess regrettably couldn't contain a small blush, so she pretended to fiddle with her hair and let it fall down to cover as much of her cheeks as possible. Hoping to draw away suspicion, she came up with a reasonable explanation.

"Well, since he's going to be royalty soon I brought over a law book for the fire Kingdom for him to go over and he seemed to really be into it. Who knew?"

She shrugged, hoping to convince Jake that the explanation was as surprising to her as it was to the human's brother. At first, it seemed he didn't buy it, but eventually, his expression softened and he instead shook his head with a smile.

"Oh boy, the things we men do for love, poor Finn."

Flame Princess breathed a sigh of relief on the inside, happy to have dodged an embarrassing explanation. Sadly, her accomplishment was instantly smashed to pieces when Finn's voice echoed down the ladder.

"Hey FP, can I seriously take a break? My stomach's gonna implode over here if I don't get some eats!"

The fiery girl buried her face in her hands and groaned as Jake gave her an accusatory stare. A moment later, the human emerged from the upper floors, carrying (with much difficulty) the text of the Fire Kingdom code. Eventually, he slammed the book onto the table, causing all the plates to momentarily bounce into the air. FP looked at him with a hopeless face. The young man frowned.

"Sorry, it's really heavy."

A voice cleared its throat, causing Finn to turn his head and see his best buddy glaring at him.

"Oh, hey Jake. Everything ok dude?"

The dog got up on top of the table and put his hands on his hips, continuing his glare.

"No, everything is **not **ok. Why are you being forced to read that crazy thick book? And why is your head all wrapped up?"

The hero's eyes grew wide as he looked to his fiancée for support. She just looked desperately at him, wishing he'd come up with something that would convince the dog everything was normal. Finn thought quickly and managed to snag an idea. He turned back to his bro.

"Ok, the thing is, last night I kind of tripped and spilled a whole bucket of water on Flame Princess and so she got super mad and whacked me on the head."

The human rubbed his bandaged cranium.

"And then I felt so bad that I asked her to get me back for it so now I have to read this whole rule book."

Jake looked over to FP for a moment. The fiery girl nodded, going along with the human's story.

"We didn't want to tell you because we thought you might think we're having too many 'violence issues' to stay in the same house and try to get us apart."

Flame Princess internally beamed at her man, quite impressed at his clever coverage of every point. The two teenagers eagerly looked at Jake to see if their lie had worked. The dog was thinking it over, watching them closely to look for any 'tells' they might let slip up. Luckily for them, Jake was terrible at poker, and not much of a threat at the whole fibbing game.

"Alright, I guess that's reasonable."

Finn and FP released the tension in their bodies, joyful that they had finally moved past the dog's questioning. Jake sat down and picked his sandwich back up, taking several more bites while his bro and the fire elemental resumed their breakfast. For a while, they were having a peaceful meal, occasionally cracking some kind of joke or commenting on how nice of a day it was so far.

Gorging his last piece of deliciousness, Jake picked up a glass of water and attempted to wash down the remains of his food. Unfortunately, he was going too fast and the liquid became lodged in his throat, blocked by the mush that was his sandwich. Reacting quickly, the dog instinctively spit out the contents of his mouth, removing the blockage before he would start choking.

As he recovered from the spasm, he heard a shout ring out from the other side of the table. Looking over, he saw Flame Princess with a disgusted expression upon her face as the water the canine had spit out was now dripping off of her hair and dress. She angrily stared at Jake while Finn handed her a napkin to dry off her wet clothes.

"Jake! What the heck!? You turn away from other people when you do that you moron!"

At first, the magical dog was terrified and hopped out of his chair, backing away from the agitated elemental. But then, he realized the water was neither evaporating nor harming her. His face shifted back to his accusatory expression, pointing a finger at the fiery girl.

"Hey! The Citadel made you water-proof!"

Finn and FP froze. Their cover was blown. Jake stretched out his arms and grabbed both of the teens, setting them back down in front of him as he grew himself to tower over them with an intimidating glare.

"That's it! You're going to tell me the REAL TRUTH this time or I swear to Grod I'll start **assuming**. And you guys know how much of a gossip I am, I'm almost as bad as Lumpy Space Princess!"

The young man groaned, knowing that there was probably no way out of this. However, he still had one last attempt up his sleeve. He took a deep breath and stared his friend in his large eyes.

"Jake, I'm gonna ask for a solid."

The dog narrowed his gaze.

"Are you serious?"

Finn nodded adamantly. The magical dog shrank back down, crossing his arms as he contemplated his bro's request.

"Go on…"

The human stepped forward and placed a hand on his besty's shoulder.

"Jake, do me a solid and forget about the whole thing. Ok?"

The dog grudgingly thought for a moment before finally giving in.

"Alright fine, but you owe me a solid."

Finn held up his hands.

"Of course, homey."

Flame Princess spoke up.

"Well, what do you guys say we clean up the table and head down to the Candy Kingdom? I'm sure Bubblegum could use some kind of help with her research."

The two adventurers nodded and the three walked back to the table, beginning to clear it off and taking the dishes to the sink. Once Finn had washed the plates, Jake finished the table, and FP wiped off the spit take that she'd received from the dog, the three companions got ready to leave for PB's castle. The young man slung on his pack and slid his sword into the back, taking a moment to rub his still aching head. Flame Princess came back from upstairs a few minutes later, wearing a different dress. Finn was curious.

"Why'd that take you so long? Couldn't you just spin around for a second and change it?"

The fiery girl shrugged with an innocent grin.

"I kind of like doing it the way others do. Feels more…active."

Finn smiled back and gave her a hug, amused by how the fiery elemental enjoyed performing all the annoying routines that most humanoids had no choice in. As they separated, Jake walked up and asked if they were ready, to which they replied they were.

Heading towards the door, the trio was interrupted as something fell on Finn's head, causing him to groan in pain. Looking to the young man's temple, his two companions saw Beemo latched onto the poor hero's hat.

"Ow! Beemo, what the junk?"

The game robot took a few moments to perform some sort of scan before replying with a concerned tone.

"I'm making sure your heart rate is back to normal. Last night while I was charging, my sensors picked up two loud screams, so when you and Flame Princess went to sleep I came down and checked to make sure you two were alright. I found that both of your hearts were beating extremely fast, a speed normally seen when something very embarrassing happens."

Finn and Flame Princess couldn't hide their blushes this time; especially when Jake's eyes grew enormous and he dropped his mouth. The dog studied the two for a minute before his eyes enlarge even further.

"What in Grob's name!...Finn! Don't tell me you got sucker punched by tier twe-"

The human cut off his friend as fast as he could, holding both hands over the canine's lips. He scowled.

"Jake! SOLID!"

Finn's bro stopped mumbling from beneath the hero's fingers and held up his hands in surrender. Carefully, the human removed his appendages from Jake's mouth and waited for an apology.

"Aw dang. I'm sorry dude. Look, I owe you a solid now for messing it up. So we're clear now. Alright?"

The young man thought about it for a moment then slowly nodded.

"Ok man. It's a deal."

The magical dog perked up. He then asked Beemo to come closer for a minute. After picking up the little computer, Jake began pressing some buttons, producing a rewind sound from his actions. After he finished wiping the console's memory of the previous night's events, he set Beemo back down, who looked quite dizzy.

Jake gave Finn a hopeful thumps up. The human smiled and did the same.

* * *

Princess Bubblegum gave an irritated groan as another calculation turned up negative. She had been working for hours on end trying to figure out a way to terminate the Shards of Evil. Sadly, nothing she tried worked. No known method was coming up for eliminating the dangerous relics from existence. Frustrated, the gummy ruler smacked her head down on her desk, startling Science, who was resting peacefully in her cage nearby. PB held her head back up and gently tapped the candy rat's box.

"Sorry girl, it's been a tiring operation and still nothing."

The candy corn animal twitched her nose a bit before laying back down to resume her nap. Bubblegum sighed and stood up, intent on getting some water to refresh her exhausted brain. Walking out of her lab, the candy monarch was instantly met with the presence of Peppermint Butler. The nicely dressed servant bowed and smiled before his majesty.

"My lady, Finn, Jake, and Flame Princess have arrived to see if they could assist you."

Peebles smiled, happy that she wasn't going this road alone. She had friends to offer support and motivation. Thanking the candy person, the pink woman proceeded down the hall to find her visitors. The floors were no longer creaking, evidencing that the workers had finished restoring the damages that Flame Princess had unwantedly dealt to the castle.

As PB turned the corner, she found the trio patiently waiting for her. They smiled and waved as the monarch approached.

"Hey Prubs, how's it been?"

Finn enthusiastically smiled at his friend, hoping for some good news. Unfortunately, the princess could only sigh again.

"Not that good. I still haven't found any means by which to neutralize the Shards. I'm afraid it'll take a while to get anything more."

The three visitors frowned, disappointed that no real progress had been made. Jake stepped forward.

"Can't we just smash them or something?"

PB shook her head.

"It's not that easy. They irradiate a strange energy that dispels all forms of attack or damage. I've been trying to see if I can isolate a frequency with which to break through the field but there's been no luck."

All four friends contemplated on the situation. Flame Princess noticed how exhausted the gummy ruler was, walking over and placing a hand on the lady's shoulder.

"PB, when was the last time you slept?"

The candy monarch attempted to wave off the question.

"Oh it's nothing to worry about. I almost never sleep. Too much to do."

The fiery elemental wasn't buying it. She gave a cross look and folded her arms.

"You can't make any progress if you're a zombie. Come on; let's go get you some fresh air."

Finn and Jake agreed, basically dragging the reluctant princess through the castle. Eventually, she gave up and followed the insistent companions outside. The sky was perfectly clear save for a few straggling clouds here and there. The citizens however, looked rather worried as they went about their daily business. Finn frowned.

"Hey PB, what's up with the candy people?"

Princess Bubblegum gazed sadly at her nervous subjects.

"Space-time distortions have begun rampaging throughout the kingdom. We've already had issues with several factory operations and a whole square mile of the southern district is running on about fifty percent normal time flow. Anyone who goes in has to run as fast as possible otherwise it would take them hours to get through."

The news was further discouraging, causing the group to just sit on the palace's front steps rather than the short walk that they planned. They all held up their heads with their hands, thinking how this mess would be resolved. As the minutes flew by, the gang continued to just sit there, wondering what to do about the dire situation. No one spoke, no one moved, there was absolute silence between the four friends.

Keeping this in mind, it was no surprise that they nearly jumped out of their skins when someone unleashed a heavy cord on an instrument behind them. Princess Bubblegum especially freaked, still jittery from her sleepless research. Turning around, the group saw Marceline floating a few feet off the ground, laughing hysterically.

"Oh man! You should have seen the way Bonnie jumped! Classic."

Peebles angrily got up and marched over to the vampire, who was wearing her large sunhat and gloves. She casually strummed her bass as the gummy woman glared at her.

"Marceline, what the fudge! I'm really not in the mood for your jokes."

The raven haired girl smirked.

"Jeez, relax girl, I was just getting yall's attention. Why's everyone bummed out?"

PB threw up her arms.

"We're kind of dealing with a temporal catastrophe! Didn't you notice any strange anomalies on your way here?"

The vampire thought for a moment.

"Come to think of it, it did seem like this one flock of birds were moving **really** slow."

The candy monarch crossed her arms.

"See. This is serious Marcy. If we can't fix this somehow, Astrum might just be the least of our worries."

Everyone tightened their fists at the mention of the precursor's name. Marceline tapped her ax bass's blade on her hand.

"Oh don't you worry. That jerk's gonna pay big time for what he did to my dad."

Finn suddenly remembered a question.

"How's he doing by the way?"

The vampire sighed.

"Like always. Not even losing his amulet knocked down his pride. He's still over there, ordering around the remaining demons."

Jake huffed.

"Who would ever take a guy dressed like that seriously?"

Marcy looked at the dog with mild irritation.

"He's still a demon weenie. There's plenty of pain he can bring to those morons. Besides, we picked him up a new suit. At least he can keep his dignity."

Happy to hear the good news, Finn lightened up and scooted over closer to Flame Princess, placing his arm around her shoulders. The fiery girl leaned into his chest as they sat looking out into the kingdom.

"Well, anything good helps these days."

Everyone silently agreed. Marceline then grinned and pointed to the human's bandaged temple.

"So what happened to your head, Finn?"

Sadly, the young man and fire elemental were destined to blush each time someone brought it up. The hero placed his hand on the wrappings and looked back nervously at the Vampire Queen.

"Long story, I'd rather not talk about it."

Marcy giggled.

"I hope you two didn't get into a fight or something. Just remember FP, we need him **alive** to beat up that multidimensional loser."

The fiery ruler scowled at the grey skinned girl. A moment later though, a second, masculine, laugh filled the air. As the gang looked down the stairs, they saw none other than Ferrum making his way up the steps. The alchemist was smiling widely; amused by the conversation he had entered on.

"I'd say he's good as long as he remembers how to heal himself."

With that, the fire elemental placed a finger against Finn's forehead and shot a small bolt of orange electricity into the young man's head. A moment later, the hero felt relief come to his previously aching cranium. Slowly, he unwrapped the bandages and felt his skull. No lumps or bruises.

"Thanks man," he replied, grinning at Ferrum.

The fiery man gave his friend a fist bump.

"No prob."

As the group settled in, they discussed the day's schedule, trying to organize a plan of action. Reluctantly, the team agreed that there was nothing to do besides hope Peebles could find an answer to destroying the Shards. The pink princess proceeded to stand, which prompted the others to do the same.

"I should get back to the lab. I've got to make a breakthrough eventually."

Not quite convinced but not wanting to discourage the monarch any more, the gang nodded. Marceline floated higher in the air.

"I guess the rest of us will just hang out here. Just in case something crazy happens."

As the vampire began strumming some chords, Jake stretched his body into an impression of the stairs and let himself fall back onto the steps, crossing his legs and putting his arms behind his head.

"Oh come on, what's the worst that can happen?"

Before another comment could be made, a sharp shockwave ripped through the air, nearly causing everyone to fall over. Looking to the source, Marceline spotted a new feature in the sky. It was a spacial rift. The vampire glared at the object, then turned the expression to jake.

"What did I tell you about Murphy's Law!?"

The dog shrugged as he stretched back to normal and gazed at the portal hanging high in the air. The whole gang was attempting to get a good look at it. For the moment, nothing was coming out. Ferrum walked up to Bubblegum.

"Is it a distortion, or one of _his_?"

The candy monarch reached into her lab coat pocket and bought out a pair of high-tech binoculars, which she brought to her face and began adjusting various lenses and knobs. After examining the rift in greater detail, she looked gravely at her friends.

"It's one of Astrum's."

Everyone readied their weapons, looking anxiously at the portal suspended hundreds of feet off the ground. PB returned to looking through the binoculars as the rest waited for the vile precursor to show himself. Minutes passed by as the tension grew. No one said a word, save for Finn, who occasionally mumbled "come on, come on."

Eventually, Peebles spotted a figure emerging from the rift, dressed in black clothes and sporting a dark stoic expression. However, there was something vastly different. PB lowered her device and looked to her human companion.

"Finn. I think you should see this."

Curious, the hero approached the gummy lady and accepted the binoculars from her. Raising them up to his eyes, the young man fiddled with the adjustments until he could clearly see Astrum's form hovering in the air next to the portal. With a few minor tweaks, he zoomed in closer on the precursor's face. Instantly, he was stunned. Lowering the pair of sights, the hero looked hard at his friends.

"He's…absorbed another one."

Everyone's face turned to shock, despairingly looking toward the entity that was now scanning the grounds of the Candy Kingdom. Astrum's hair was now a deep shade of blue, nearly black in color, with locks that ran clear down to his mid-back. His skin had somewhat of a yellow hue, along with green markings underneath his pure yellow irises. He had notable facial hair along his jawline, which seemed to bring out a certain feeling of intimidation from the being due to its strong shape.

The Ooocians below could only imagine how powerful the man this monster had killed was, only to fall to the might of the despicable Siphoner. As Astrum began to slowly lower himself to the ground, the kingdom's defenses activated.

"Threat detected!"

The two massive Gumball Guardians stood up from their positions on the walls surrounding the city, facing the precursor as he continued his decent. The two giant robots fired their eye lasers, which rapidly approached Astrum as he eyed the looming energy blasts. Rather than teleport away however, he simply brought up his arms and instantly created two enormous rotating rune circles, which effortlessly absorbed the blasts.

As everyone below gasped, the Guardians rapidly fired more lasers. Astrum blocked each one, harmlessly bouncing them off of his barriers. Realizing their basic attacks weren't working, the twin robots took a step back and projected various green runes around their heads. Down below, Finn, Jake, and PB's eyes grew wide.

"Hit the deck!"

Everyone did as the human said, flattening themselves against the floor as the Gumball Guardians fired a strange green pulse at Astrum's floating form. Upon impact, nothing happened. A few seconds later though, the entire kingdom was blinded by a monstrous explosion that was powerful enough to blow apart several buildings from its shockwave. Even the group lying on the ground was shoved into the walls of the castle, groaning from the hit as they shielded their eyes.

As the dust finally settled, the friends recovered to see that the entire city was basically ruined. Countless objects that weren't heavily tied down were now scattered throughout the streets, along with several protruding from what houses were left standing. The castle itself had been seriously battered by debris, appearing as if hail the size of elephants had been raining down upon it.

Princess Bubblegum scowled.

"Dang it! I told those two not to do that so close to the kingdom!"

As the gang managed to fully stand, they ran forward to examine the final result of the Guardians' devastating attack. The flash from the impact radius finally dissipated, revealing an empty space where the precursor once hovered. Finn grinned.

"Well, at least it looks like they got him."

The gang began to appreciate this fact, gazing at the empty spot in the sky with a feeling of potential success. Peebles looked through her binoculars, confirming that the precursor was nowhere in the area. She smiled.

"I guess so. I would say it's worth the temporary destruction of my lands to ensure that butt is down for the count."

Everyone chuckled a bit at the princess's lack of formal speech.

"Other destruction however, will not be so temporary."

The group swung their heads around to eye the top of the stairway leading into the palace. Upon it stood Astrum, glaring down at the assembled friends below. Each one of them bared their teeth at the vile entity, raising their weapons to prepare for an all-out assault. Flame Princess and Ferrum acted first, blasting two massive streams of flames at the precursor, who brought up a barrier to halt the attack. Secondly, Marceline materialized behind him, swinging with her bass and successfully smashing the dark being in his back.

Astrum's silvery blood tricked out of an obvious wound, which caused him to retreat to the top of the castle. Once there, he began healing the damage, only to receive a flamethrower right in his chest. After a moment, the flames were cast aside, showing that he was for the most part fast enough to block the blaze. Before him stood the two Gumball Guardians, preparing to crush the precursor with their huge fists.

The fourth dimensional man sprang up into the air before the two hands pile-drived the platform he was standing on. While in midair, Astrum threw his hands forward, ripping off chunks of the candy castle and firing them at the exposed Guardian's heads. Several cracks were heard, in addition to breaking glass as the looming robots stumbled back and finally collapsed to the ground, riddled with heavy damage.

Before he could react, a blast of white energy struck his back, causing him to fall out of the sky. As he neared the ground, Princess Bubblegum fired a second shot from the photon cannon Pep But had run out to give her, sending the being sailing straight into the castle walls, where he impacted the structure hard enough to make it shudder.

Not willing to give him a chance to recover, Finn and Jake sprung into the action. The magical dog coiled himself and fired his brother at high speed toward the smoking hole in the wall. The human readied his sword, bringing it down with a temporal slash which further decimated the side of the palace. Finn's flight continued through the candy dust, where he was finally halted by a runic barrier.

The infinity sword was, regrettably, unable to pierce Astrum's new shield. However, as the smoke cleared, Finn saw that at the very least his energy arc had struck the man in the chest before he managed to bring up the deflective force. A sliver gash was seen through his torn clothes. Sadly, the hero got distracted by the momentary success, suddenly being pushed back as Astrum used his shield like a battering ram to shove the human back outside.

Upon landing back in the courtyard in front of the castle, Finn did a backflip and joined his friends in surrounding the precursor in a large circular formation to block any chance of escape. In an instant, everyone unleashed their strongest blast in an attempt to bring him down. FP fired a stream of flames, Ferrum sent out a Violent Catalyst, PB shot another photon blast, Marceline sent out a heavy chord to disrupt Astrum's spacial rendering to cut off teleportation, Jake lodged a massive piece of the castle using his enlarged hands, and Finn sent out his largest temporal arc.

With nowhere to run, the dark being was forced to take on the full force of the combined attack. A blinding dust blast erupted from the epicenter of the explosion; blowing away any loose materials and making the group shield their eyes. Anxiously, they looked back to the site as the debris began to settle. Everyone was astounded to see a spherical barrier lying in the ground, protecting the precursor within it.

"Enough!"

Astrum expanded the barrier rapidly, dissipating it but still being solid enough to slam into each one of the gang, sending them careening backwards and hitting the ground painfully. None of them could get up, physically drained and beaten. The pitch black dressed man slowly approached the semi-conscious Princess Bubblegum, walking past several others who just couldn't send anything more at him with their limited energy.

Reaching the candy ruler, Astrum picked her up by the throat and held her into the air. She choked as she tried her best to remove the powerful grip on her windpipe. It was no use, he was just too strong.

"Let go…of her…you son of a…"

Finn was desperately trying to approach the captive princess, using his sword for support. The others watched as their courageous friend closed the distance. The moment he was within reach, the young man raised his blade to strike, only to completely lose his stance and collapse onto his face, dropping the weapon to his side.

"Finn!"

Flame Princess managed to fire dash over to him with what remained of her strength. She quickly looked around to check the others. The rest of the gang looked in better condition than her man, which was sadly expected due to his more frail human body. Finn may be nearly invincible in heart and determination, but his muscles and nerves all had their physical limitations.

While FP cradled the fallen hero in her arms, Astrum looked back to PB, still suspended in his grip.

"The situation is rather dire for you, isn't it? One might suggest a desperate move."

After voicing the cryptic statement, he threw the pink lady to the ground and raised his arm, seemingly preparing to finish her off with a blade of compacted molecules. Everyone gazed helplessly at their friend, unable to so much as move closer to stop Astrum's strike.

As the being's arm came down, the only thing the blade struck was a sturdy shell of ice.

The precursor, along with the assembled group, grew a look of astonishment. A moment later, Astrum's arm was frozen solid. He tried to bash the crystalized water apart but it took him too long. Another shot froze his other arm. Lastly, an enormous beam with a light blue hue hit the man directly in his chest, encasing him completely in an orb of ice.

All eyes went to the sky, where the sight of a blue robed wizard descending from the air with his flapping beard granted joyful expressions.

"Ice King!"

Jake had managed to stand up weakly, admiring the arrival of the old ice conjurer. Marceline used her slowly recovering energy to float over to IK's side as he landed next to the injured Bubblegum.

"Simon!"

She embraced the loony wizard, who, after taking a second to realize the gesture, gladly returned it.

"Wow, I didn't think you guys cared so much."

A snicker was heard over by FP. Finn had regained consciousness and was being helped up by his lady and Jake.

"Of course you're welcome to the fight man; you're our bro-ham."

He gave the icy elder a grin.

While Marcy was helping the newly awake PB to her feet, Ice King was filled with glee as he watched everyone gaze at him with admiration. He rubbed his neck.

"Heh, sorry I'm late. I didn't get the invite, I think. Unless I lost it in the mail like that time Princess Bubblegum sent me an invite to the potluck."

The old man was distracted from his pondering when a soft light was emitted from a space nearby. Everyone turned to see a being materializing before them. It was only after its features were revealed that anyone recognized her.

"Solara!"

The group strenuously gathered near the fiery precursor, who instantly took great worry to the conditions of her friends.

"Oh no. How bad is everyone?"

Flame Princess stumbled over, allowing Jake to take Finn from her.

"We'll live Solara. What are you doing here; you're still in no shape to fight again."

The angelic woman sighed.

"I know, but I couldn't just let you all battle that menace without me here. As soon as Index detected the abnormal space-time flux I brought myself here to help."

FP gave a thankful smile.

"We appreciate it. But I think it's over now."

The Ancestral Flame followed the princess's gaze to the frozen orb that still held Astrum. She grew wide eyed.

"How is this possible, for simple ice to-"

The woman spotted Ice King, who was helping everyone recover with a sincere smile upon his face. Solara stared at the crown on the ice wizard's head.

"Unless…"

Before she could finish, a rumbling struck the ground, followed by several cracking noises as the icy sphere began to crumble. Within a few moments, Astrum blasted his way out, looking heavily disoriented. Eventually, he set his gaze on the group several yards away. He glared at them, progressively taking steps toward them. Everyone prepare for another round but before an act could be made, Ice King held up his hand, motioning for them to stop.

The old man was facing the approaching threat but turned his head, giving Solara a serious look that stunned the whole team. His face showed determination, fearlessness, and a willingness to protect those who valued his presence.

"Solara, get the guys somewhere safe."

He turned back to Astrum, raising his fists while emanating icy energy from them.

"I'll deal with this butt."

The Ancestral Flame and the others were speechless. Usually mindless, the cold king was truly protecting them at this point.

"I won't let my friends get hurt. And I owe it to them for showing up late when they were already fallen on the ground."

The gang continued to stare at the wizard's back. Peebles reached a hand out.

"Ice King, you don't have to-"

"Princess please, you need to rest, just like all the others."

The old man's interruption silenced the candy monarch, who eventually managed a small nod and allowed Marceline to carry her away from the battlefield. The entire group was retreating into the grand hall at the top of the stairs. As FP walked Finn up the stairs, he motioned for her to stop for a moment.

"Hey Ice King."

The bluish man looked back at the human.

"Good luck."

IK smiled and nodded back to the hero, then resumed his gaze on Astrum. While the two prepared to clash, Flame Princess looked to Solara, who was helping Ferrum up the stairs beside her while she supported Finn.

"What were you saying, about the ice?"

The fiery woman set her sight on the fire elemental next to her.

"From what we've gathered on the Citadel, when the wielder of the crown has the upmost determination to protect those they care about, the ice that its power produces is unlike any that is found in the multiverse."

FP was shocked. Looking back, she eyed the noble king one last time before they managed to enter the grand hall.

Astrum paused his approach, waiting for the wizard to make the first move. He did so, blasting a shard of ice lightening at his foe. The precursor pulled up a barrier, which while stopped the projectile, cracked from the impact. The dark man grew astonished.

"How could you-"

Before he finished his statement, IK threw a blizzard at his enemy, pushing him back significantly as he drew up another runic shield. This time, the barrier slowly frosted over before shattering and allowing the icy blast to hit him straight on. Overwhelmed by the force and still unable to teleport, Astrum was slammed into a nearby building.

"Whoo! That's what you get for messing with my homies!"

As Ice King cheered, his opponent shot a blast of compressed air at the old man. Luckily, the circling icy winds he had summoned to the battlefield warned him of the changing pressure, giving him time to produce a barrier of his own to block the hit. The ice held and the wizard discarded the protection, eying the precursor who was now crawling his way out of the dent in the house.

He hated to admit it, but all the fighting had exhausted him. And with the strange powers that the king's ice contained, he was concerned he wouldn't last. Unless…he used his last trick. Standing up to face the old man, Astrum pushed aside his inner wrappings, revealing three dangling slivers near his neck.

From the grand hall above, the rest of the gang had been watching intently as Ice King was thrashing his foe. Looks grew worried however as Astrum displayed the Shards he had collected.

"What's he doing?" Finn asked with urgency.

Solara shared the feeling.

"He's going to fire the energy of the Shards themselves."

Jake gulped.

"Whoa. That's **a lot** of evil."

Everyone else was thinking the same thing. Down below, Ice King held his ground as the vile precursor was charging up a mysterious but menacing looking sphere of energy within his hands. The three Shards of Evil glowed brightly as their chaotic and twisted power was absorbed into the sphere.

After completing the charge, Astrum looked at the king with an expression of sheer murderous instinct.

"Stop **this**, foolish wizard."

With that, the dark being unleashed a horrifying red and black volley of energy from the sphere, which flew at great speed toward IK. At first he had been confident, but as he sensed the growing might of the blast, his bravery began to dwindle.

"Oh beans, oh beans, oh beans!"

He tried to move but his legs were petrified. The ice wizard closed his eyes.

"This evil is gonna hurt."

Everyone gasped as the beam made contact with the Ice King, throwing the full force of concentrated evil straight into his torso. The force of the stream had kicked up more dust, blocking the view of the old man's fate. Astrum simply stood, satisfied that the attack had connected and sure that his foe was obliterated.

As the dust settled however, his eyes grew wide.

There in the path of the blast, Ice King stood holding his hands over his eyes, shivering quite a bit. He gently moved a finger to peek through with one eye as he noticed all noise had stopped.

"Am I, in Glob world?"

The answer that came to the wizard shocked everyone.

"Wenk."

IK looked down to his beard, only to see a small black and white head poking out, with big eyes and a small orange beak.

"Gunter!"

"Wenk."

The loyal penguin stared up at its master, not blinking or even moving as the old man gave the creature a big hug.

"Oh Gunter! I know I should be mad that you snuck in there without permission but I think you just saved my life!"

The little bird just continued its stare. Meanwhile, everybody in the grand hall was flabbergasted.

"How did…what happened to the blast of evil?"

Marceline's question applied to everyone. And of course, everyone looked to Solara for the answer. The fiery precursor looked more concerned than confused.

"The power of the Shards of Evil…can only be countered by a source of **greater** evil."

Now everyone was lost.

"What?!"

Jake voiced the collective confusion of the gang. The Ancestral Flame shrugged.

"I suppose we can take it as a good thing…for the moment."

Back at the battlefield, Astrum was growing agitated, unable to comprehend how a flightless bird had instantly negated his attack. Refusing to be undignified by the creature, he began to march toward the Ice King.

The old man was too busy with his penguin to notice the approach. Suddenly, Gunter made a strange expression and held a flipper to its peak. A rumbling was heard in the bird's stomach. Ice King was shocked.

"Gunter, did you SWALLOW that thing?"

"Wenk."

A second later, the tuxedo person's cheeks puffed up and it turned its mouth back to Astrum, who the wizard had just noticed. Before either being could react, Gunter opened her mouth and instantaneously fired the horrific stream of energy back at the precursor. Astrum was helpless as his body was violently thrown through about a quarter mile worth of buildings.

As Ice King and the others gazed in shock, Gunter let out a final wisp of smoke from her beak. After finally snapping out of his trance, IK looked down to his companion and smiled.

"You are one amazing bird, you know that dear?"

"Wenk."

The ice wizard chuckled quietly as the gang began descending back down the stairs, eager to join their victorious pair from the Ice Kingdom. The two were met with pats on the back, praise, and a few hugs from the admiring group of friends. Solara smiled to herself.

_Perhaps, what lies within is calming itself…_

As the Ancestral Flame contemplated the crown, a sudden presence was felt in the wind. Too fast for anyone to react, Astrum instantly appeared in front of Ice King and brought down what appeared to be a blade of razor sharp air down on the wizard. With his highest focus, Finn was able to grab the old man's tunic and pull him back just enough for the weapon to be out of range of the icy conjurer's face.

Everyone watched in slow motion as Astrum's blade cut a deep slice into the central jewel of IK's crown, causing great damage but thankfully also missing the poor guy's skin. As the precursor's strike failed, he was caught off guard and wasn't able to dodge the incoming fire from PB's photon cannon, which she had started aiming at him the moment he had appeared.

"Not missing this time, jerk-face."

The shot hit Astrum squarely in the jaw, sending him flying backwards with extreme force before grinding him into the candy dirt. The vile being was struggling immensely at this point to even get to his feet. He knew he was beaten, he had to retreat. Once he had gotten up, the dark entity gave a loathing stare to the group in front of him.

"One way or another, I will get that shard!"

Just before teleporting away, he used the last of his arm strength to hurl a peculiar object towards the candy palace. As his form dissipated in a flash, the object fell through one of the many holes in the battered castle and landed somewhere inside. The most odd noise began to resonate from the depths of the castle as everyone looked to the structrure.

Before the gang's eyes, a massive bubble of spacial energy engulfed a large portion of the building, erasing any matter caught inside from the dimension. All watched with horror, especially PB, as nearly a third of the ruling seat of the Candy Kingdom was teleported to oblivion, leaving behind only an unnatural crater, which terrified Finn more than anyone. The burning memory of his vision.

_No, it's still happening, all of it! How do I stop it!?_

As Bubblegum began to weep at the extensive loss of her home, attention was refocused on Ice King, who was twitching on the ground with his eyes closed. Finn tried shaking the wizard.

"Ice King! Simon! Snap out of it! What's wrong?

The old man couldn't answer, struggling against some invisible force. Solara stepped forward and gazed at the crown. Its gem was nearly split in two and unstable energy appeared to be radiating from it. Her eyes grew wide.

"The crown! Get it off of him!"

Not questioning the precursor in the least, Marcy knocked the headwear off of the struggling wizard's head. Immediately, he stopped fidgeting and opened his eyes, trying hard to focus.

"Oh man…that was weird."

As everyone was relived at the hapless man's revival, Solara took the crown and set it on the ground, taking a few steps away from it. Flame Princess was he first to notice.

"What's going on?"

The Ancestral Flame looked intently at the shaking crown.

"The Gem of Power within the crown has been damaged. If I don't stop it, it will unleash another ice age onto this planet."

The group gasped as Solara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. FP stepped toward her, looked a bit frightened.

"Solara, what are you doing?"

The precursor opened her sight and focused on the unstable crown.

"Something I should've done a long time ago."

At the utterance of the final word, Solara morphed herself into a single stream of flames and shot herself into the gem of the crown, being completely consumed by the jewel's energy. The gang stood absolutely shocked, unable to even shout after their friend as she plunged into the world within the chaotic headpiece.

* * *

**_I've decided to have Gunter female, I believe that the show leans more toward that gender. _**

**_Hope you enjoyed and please review!_**

**_next:_ **Chapter 27: Fiery Mother, Frosted Father


	27. Chapter 27: Fiery Mother, Frosted Father

Chapter 27: Fiery Mother, Frosted Father

As Solara drifted through a red crystalline tunnel, she suddenly felt the change in temperature that the new environment would hold. It was well below freezing, primed to a chilling degree that would insta-freeze any liquid that would enter its cryonic influence. Beyond the physical elements that gave the area such a distinction of woe, the fiery precursor also sensed grave emotional energy, which dwelled predominantly in a sensation of chaos and misery.

She knew she was headed in the right direction.

As the tunnel began to constrict, Solara began to wonder what exactly she was planning to do once she confronted the spirit within the crown. As usual, the woman was impulsive, a quality that seemed near impossible for a being such as herself. At times the angelic lady would wonder as to why she chose immaturity to keep her sanity. It didn't favor her in the long run it seemed. After all, look where it had gotten her.

Patiently waiting for the end of the road, the Ancestral Flame contemplated her pros and cons, hoping to pass the time with some well-placed thought. On the down side, her quick nature had caused several 'minor' disturbances throughout various cycles, having performed such acts as accidentally burning down a few cities, failing to remain unseen to several hundred undeveloped cultures who then established her as their goddess, and in a few dozen instants sparking a war between worlds due to her big mouth.

Solara sighed, thinking how her achievements could possibly outweigh her failures.

She had dedicated her whole existence to helping other precursors find their way, showing them to the Citadel and from their finding them a new life in the next cycle, easing the pain and suffering that the beings were experiencing emotionally. She had become known as the 'Guiding Torch', promising salvation to those who were saved. She had provided the flames to forge the great cosmic locks, which allowed the multiverse to continue its existence. In a way, she was responsible for all the misery the precursors experienced. Whoops, that was a con.

She had united two people in love… Certainly that was a great feeling. Individuals who would never be able to touch if she hadn't stepped in. Their lives were changed forever when they met, and now they could enjoy the fruits of their labor. The thought brought a smile to Solara's face even as the temperature continued to drop.

As the apparent end approached, the woman found herself rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm up. There had been only one other time when she had felt this way, and that was when she encountered the chaotic crown the first time. Now though, she had a far more important task.

The tunnel ended and Solara was instantly blinded by a blizzard, which also knocked her out of the sky as its gale force winds swept her up in the wind. Solara attempted to maintain balance but it was too late. The precursor was thrown into the ground, which luckily didn't hurt that much since it was made entirely of snow. Astoundingly, it did not begin to melt from contact with the fiery being. She remembered that this particular snow was strong enough to withstand basic contact with flames. It would take actual effort to remove it.

At this point, Solara got to her feet and began peering through the seemingly endless expanse of drifts and tundra, trying to find the realm's single inhabitant. The lady cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Hello!?"

She waited as her shout disappeared into the wind, torn apart by the strength of the icy breeze. No answer came, just an echo. The Ancestral Flame began walking. Nowhere in particular, just blindly hoping to bump into the frosted entity that might be stalking her from the stealthy snow-blind, waiting for a chance to freeze the lady solid.

But she was made of fire, what did she have to worry about? This thought brought little confidence however, as Solara noticed she was turning blue. Her flames were greatly deprived of oxygen in this plane, causing her source of fuel to dwindle. She was on a timer, one she had to beat fast.

"Hello!?"

Still no answer. The woman was really getting worried now. It would take possibly years to search the entire area. She didn't have the kind of time. The gang needed to get back on Astrum's tail. Who knew what he was planning next. Refusing to give in, Solara shot herself into the sky, hoping to spot something from the air.

Unfortunately, the blizzard was like a net to a butterfly for the poor precursor, constantly tangling her up in a mess of wind currents. Higher altitude also drained her oxygen faster, eventually forcing her to get back to the ground. Frustrated, the Ancestral Flame tried to think of a new plan.

She obviously couldn't get to the being in all this frozen wasteland…but…perhaps she could get **him** to come to **her**. Gaining a fair bit of hope from her idea, Solara took a few deep breaths and focused her flames. With elegant motions, she threw out a massive shockwave of combustion that spread across the land, liquefying tons upon tons of ice. The precursor hovered a bit to avoid the huge lake she had produced.

She waited, waited for a response to her disruption of the realm's natural order. For a few minutes there was nothing, but then, Solara heard snow being crunched beneath someone's steps. Looking around, she attempted to find the source. It was challenging with the howling winds but eventually the woman found a figure as the edge of the lake.

He had a long tattered blue cloak, which concealed the vast majority of his body. His feet and hands were both made of a strange flexible ice, proven so when he kneeled down and opened his palm toward the lake. A moment later, an icy blast was fired from his hand, instantly beginning to freeze the water back into a frozen state.

Afterwards, the being commanded the winds to blow snow to cover the area, hiding the scar upon the tundra. Solara managed to dodge the blizzards work and gently set down on the newly applied layer of flakes. Immediately, the frosted being noticed her presence and looked toward her.

His eyes were a chilling white and light blue, while his silvery white hair produced frost which emanated into the air. He gazed at first with a blank expression at the fiery lady now standing but a few yards away. His head tilted slightly as he studied her. Finally, his eyes grew wide and he took a step forward, holding up his hands.

"No! The flames! They have you! Come child; let me freeze those harmful ribbons off of you!"

Solara held her stance as the icy entity approached. Once he was within reaching distance, he stared again at the precursor and shook his head.

"My, my, completely engulfed, this is terrible!"

His hands glowed with a blue aura.

"Hold still child, while I remove the dangerous fire."

As his hand reached out to freeze, Solara grabbed it by the wrist and stopped the act. For the moment, it seemed their power was evenly matched, as neither one of them felt pain from the contact. The icy man was shocked.

"You, you're **made **of fire!"

Solara gazed sadly into the elder's trembling eyes.

"What is your name?"

The man raised his hands again.

"I am Gelum, the great Ice Caster."

He aimed his palms at the fiery lady, growing a despairing look. Solara took a step back nervously.

"And you, are a threat to my children! Fire with kill them, you must be banished from this wolrd!"

With that, Gelum fired two ice bolts at the angelic lady, who managed to dodge the strike and roll to the side, arming her fists with blue flames.

"I don't want to hurt anyone Gelum, I swear!"

The ice caster wasn't listening.

"I must freeze the danger."

More ice bolts were shot at the Ancestral Flame. Unfortunately, Flame Princes had been right; she was in no shape to go into a fight. Although she was hoping to avoid one at all in the first place. Momentarily struggling from fatigue, Solara tripped and fell into the snow, giving Gelum the chance to freeze her legs together.

As the fiery woman attempted to free herself, the ice being fired more ice at her body, slowing encasing the precursor in a cage of cold crystal. As Solara's face froze in shock within the confines of the prison, Gelum walked over and patted it.

"There my children, you're safe again, the flaming lady is gone, don't you worry."

All of a sudden, the cage began to melt, causing Gelum to back away as Solara turned bright white once more. The prison exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. As he removed his hand from his shielded face, the ice caster looked to see the Ancestral Flame free, and reduced now to a dull yellow.

She was panting, exhausted from the break-out. Gelum stepped forward again and gasped.

"She's out! She'll destroy our protective ice!"

The deranged man fired a stream of snow at the intruder, who managed to fire a blast of her own to counteract the attack. Unfortunately, Gelum received a home field advantage, both boosting his own power and draining his foe's. Solara began to shiver as her heat continued to deteriorate. She released her blast and opted to dodge instead. She couldn't afford to fight.

Gelum tracked the woman as she sprinted across the snow, repeatedly sending shots of icy energy in an attempt to freeze the woman. Solara was now turning a dark orange. The precursor was having extensive difficulty breathing, realizing that running was also siphoning her heat as well as if she would be flying. Anything she did would weaken her. Anything except standing still.

The Ancestral Flame was desperately trying to find a plan in her mind. How could she reach Gelum's sanity? Was it even possible? Maybe another way was present. No matter the process, she needed to stabilize the entity as fast as possible; otherwise earth would be buried for several hundred years in a white blanket.

Solara's insignia began to glow. She reached up and felt the slight heat her sign produced. It was then that she decided to listen to her prodigies. Infinity and Eternity were once again willing to help their mother. The woman smiled.

_As any children would._

Meanwhile, Gelum was growing ever more frantic with his ice blasts, at this point nearly sending them in random directions. He noticed the intruder was running with her eyes closed and her hands to her collar. It was strange, but his insanity overrode the curiosity, resuming the frosty assault.

The Ancestral Flame was listening intently to what her two children were saying through her heart. She now understood. The way to the crazed ice caster was not through his mind, but through his heart. However, this would be just as dangerous if not more.

_I know what I must do, for the sake of the planet and my friends._

Astoundingly, Solara stopped dead in her tracks, turning slowly to face Gelum. The icy being paid no attention to the odd act and fire an ice blast, which hit the woman's left side, freezing it up. She groaned but began taking steps forward. Gelum hit again, encasing her left leg. She didn't stop her struggling approach.

The man shot again and again, until only the right side of the lady's face was free of the chilling crystal substance. Solara was shivering uncontrollably. Her skin was now reddish. Gelum finally found the logic to step back from his opponent, seeing that she was determined to apparently snare him, which he of course thought would kill him due to her flames. He repeatedly fired shots in desperation, obsessed with halting the woman.

It was all too late. Solara used the last of her fire to melt away the ice covering her arms and fell into Gelum's chest, giving him a weak embrace, as her energy was quickly fading at this point. The ice caster was panicking. He tried shoving the precursor off of him but to no avail. The ice on her body made her a fair bit heavier, too heavy for his feeble old arms to push. Before any more force could be applied, Solara began whispering in Gelum's ear, her voice very faint.

"Gelum...what does one need...in order to love?"

The ice caster was caught of guard by this question, momentarily breaking out of his advanced insanity and lowering to a heavy state of nervousness,

"Th-that's easy! A heart that brings kindness and affection. What else could it be?"

Solara smiled upon the icy being's shoulder.

"Can you tell me Gelum...where is **your **heart?"

The frosted entity scoffed.

"But of course! It is where it has always been, giving my frozen children the comfort they need. It's right...right...um, right..."

He was checking his chest, moving an arm around the little amount of free space that was between him and Solara's form. He could feel nothing. The broken caster's eyes trembled.

"Wh-where is it? I must have it! How else would my precious ones be feeling my love?"

Solara's hunch was right. Her twins had been right. Now it was time to finally end this nightmare.

"Gelum...my flames are gone...I cannot...hurt you or your children. Please...will you let me help you...find your heart?"

The old man's expression changed somehow, to a look of pleading. His eyes watered up but immediately froze into shards and fell to the ground like pebbles.

"...Yes...please."

The Ancestral Flame took one hand and pressed it against Gelum's freezing chest. She could feel no beat coming from within. She knew what to do, what must be done to reawaken the wise father who was slumbering within a prison of suffering and insanity. Gently, Solara edged a lay-line of her energy into the ice being's torso, penetrating his cloak, skin, and bone until it reached his frozen heart. The link had difficulty getting through the thick coating of frost, taking a minute before the precursor added in some extra heat to help it along.

As the energy flow made contact with Gelum's heart, his eyes widened in shock, feeling a strange warmth in his vital organ. He couldn't understand it, it was something that he felt he knew before but had long ago lost. Rather than retaliating to the growing heat, the ice caster was able to hold back his twisted mind's screaming, instead favoring the rising peace within his chest.

Solara finally established a link with their two hearts. She spoke again.

"Do you trust me my friend? Are you willing to put faith in my promise to help your children?"

Gelum took a moment before answering back.

"But, what could you know about trusting others with your pride and joy? How could you know how many helpless faces I must protect?"

The precursor chuckled a bit, confusing him.

"My dear, I am not just a kind spirit who wanders looking for others' fate. Believe it or not but I have more experience as a parent than you ever will. My flames have given life to astounding beings who are able to create so much with their fiery passion. I adore each one of them, and would do anything to protect them."

Gelum gasped suddenly.

"You couldn't be...Solara, the mythical entity of the multiverse?"

The woman nodded into the man's shoulder. Amazingly, he returned the embrace that she still had on him.

"Then...yes. No one in existence could deserve more trust that you. For you have given birth to an entire race, something that my power would never allow."

Solara chuckled again.

"Do not limit yourself Gelum, your strength has indeed created an entire family, many times over in fact."

The ice caster smiled.

"But..."

The smile vanished.

"I'm sad to say that, you've also hurt a great deal of people in your pursuit of salvation. Your place in this crown has corrupted many beings, forcing them to destroy much of their own responsibilities. Now I must ask you to accept the responsibility of controlling your despair. Can you do that for me?"

Gelum thought for a moment, gazing deep into the blizzard still surrounding them. He nodded.

"Yes. I understand. Free my heart, so that my mind may be shown the truth."

Solara sent a pulse of energy between the heart link, causing the encasement on the ice being's source of compassion to at long last, defrost, revealing a healthy, beating entity that supplied warmth and love. As the final show, the precursor focused on grabbing the energy flow that Gelum was now offering her. She grabbed onto it, forming the final bond that wold unite their hearts. As the energy merged between them, she began.

_When ardent hearts are brought together._

_They break through the binds of chaos an __deceit._

_A new power ascends to calm the storm._

_Watch as this force bonds love and compassion._

_Watch as this state shatters away insanity and despair. Harmony's Origin._

Gelum's eyes sprang open as he experienced a sensation in his chest. It was confusing to him. He felt that he recognized it, yet somewhere along the lines, he had missed it in plain sight. At this moment, the man's delusional mind attempted to cover up the flow of energy, trying desperately to regain control over the icy being's actions. It was to no avail. Gelum accepted the union, feeling the warmth begin to flow through his body once more. As he did, Solara offered him one last piece, giving him a portion of her memories, which depicted the fates of those who had used his chaotic power.

The man frowned as he witnessed the misery he had caused, toppling entire kingdoms that contained not just the greedy ruler who had sought out the crown, but the innocent families that lay within those cities and castles. He grew a look of shame.

"I created all that destruction? I am the cause of such suffering and woe? What good is my power if it only harms, how could it ever protect?"

Solara held the man out, keeping her hands on his shoulders and giving him a warm smile. Her skin was a deep shade of maroon.

"No Gelum. You don't see the potential in yourself. Your ice strengthens that which is crumbling, your snow brings joy to those who are saddened, even your cold relieves the pain that so many are inflicted with."

Her grin held as she beamed at the ice caster.

"Do you see now my friend?"

Gelum was stunned for a moment. before pulling the woman back in for another embrace. More tears were falling from his eyes as he smiled widely.

"Thank you Solara. I promise to redeem my actions to the best of my ability. To make full use of the second chance the universe has given me. I will not fall back to despair, I swear on my heart."

Solara pushed the man away and continued her gentle grin.

"You are most welcome Gelum. Now, I believe you have some work you can do right now."

The ice caster nodded.

"No more must my might corrupt those who wield it. I shall never again destroy the mind of another when my own was led to the same fate."

The Ancestral Flame beamed with pride at the man before her. He now truly had the heart to protect those dearest to him. As Solara stepped back and prepared to fly off, Gelum looked her over. She was now a dull shade of blue. His eyes widened.

"Solara No! You cannot use any more energy! You will perish!"

He held the woman's hand.

"Please, allow yourself to be the first one I save. Begin my redemption now, with the very being who brought back my true will to protect."

The precursor realized he was telling the truth. There was no way she could blast her way out of this one. With that in mind, she nodded with a smile. Gelum returned the expression and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. A second later, the whirling blizzard ceased, creating a peaceful atmosphere that was filled only by the occasional wisp of wind. A moment later, Gelum conjured a light breeze to lift Solara into the air, directing her toward the now visible crimson exit high above. The angelic lady made a final wave before she plunged into the tunnel.

"Farewell Humble Father."

Gelum also waved.

"Farewell Noble Mother."

Solara entered the tunnel, out of sight of the snowy world. As the portal back to the outside began to widen, the precursor smiled one more time, delighted that she had just reignited a candle in the dark and perilous multiverse.

* * *

Everyone was shocked as the crown suddenly stopped shaking, halting the excessive burst of energy it had been displaying for the past several minutes. Another moment and the central em glowed brightly, cutting off vision to everyone in the area. As the crimson flash died down, the gang turned to see none other than Solara, happily holding the golden headpiece. Flame Princess spoke first.

"Solara! What happened? Why did you jump into the crown?"

Having spoken for the whole group, the fiery girl and the others awaited a response. The angelic woman simply held up the artifact in her hands. Everyone gasped as they saw that the Gem of Power was fully restored, gleaming elegantly with its crimson shade.

"The chaotic spirit within has been calmed. This item will never again destroy another's mind."

Everyone's eyes grew wide at the revelation. The Ancestral Flame turned to Ice King, who was rather more confused than astonished. She held the crown out to him.

"Take it. It is no longer a threat to you or anyone you care for."

The old wizard accepted the golden object with curiosity. Shrugging, he placed it upon his bald head. Everyone watched anxiously, expecting something to happen. IK just stood there with a blank face. Solara sighed.

"I'm sorry but this doesn't mean Simon turns back to his former self, his mind has long ago been degraded."

The gang all grew a saddened expression. None more so that Marceline. The vampire floated over to the Ancestral Flame and gave her a pleading look.

"Isn't there **any **way to get him back?"

Solara thought for a minute before answering.

"For now, there is none, but we should never give up hope."

Out of nowhere, the precursor heard a voice in her head.

_The let me do the best I can._

It was Gelum's, but she wondered what he had meant. Before pondering it further, PB gasped and pointed to the icy wizard.

"Ice King! You're-"

As everypne else set their sights on the old man again, their eyes widened exponentially. The ruler's beard was shrinking, along with his nose and teeth. The tone of his skin was also filling up, becoming less hollow and chilling. Once Gelum had done all he could, his influence disappeared, leaving the group to gaze in amazement at the Ice King's form. Marcy was the first to react.

"Simon, you look just like 1000 years ago!"

Ice King raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his hands, he recoiled as he saw the fairly less freezing color of his flesh. A second later, Gunter fell out of his beard, being too small to fully hold the little penguin. The old man quickly helped his companion to her feet as PB handed him a small mirror. Ice King gasped as he stared at his reflection.

"Oh my Gob...I'm gorgeous! Dropped a thousand years huh? Let's just see the ladies try to stay away now. Whoo!"

The gang started laughing as they watched the ice wizard trying to style his newly acquired hair. After a few minutes of recollection and rest, Bubblegum heard one of her sensors go off on her watch. Looking down to the data, she studied the readings carefully as the group slowly stopped their laughter and gazed anxiously at the pink lady. Finally she held her arm down and looked at them with a nervous expression.

"Guys, there's a spacial disturbance...at the Ice Kingdom."

The assembled friends were shocked. Ice King stepped forward.

"There is no way that butt is knocking down **my** kingdom. Especially after what he did to Bubblegum's!"

He shrugged.

"And come on, I've already had my place destroyed before, what the heck man?"

Flame Princess and Finn rubbed the back of their necks, looking uneasy. Marceline swung her bass over her shoulders and floated into the air.

"Well let's go then. Astrum couldn't have recovered that fast and now we've got Simon with us. He won't be able to block anything so we can just lay into his jerk face with all we've got."

The group agreed. Finn however, frowned, rubbing his chin.

"Hm, we're going to need a fast way to get there for those who can't fly..."

The others admitted this was true. For a few moments, the friends contemplated a solution. It was the human himself though who came up with an idea, snapping his fingers.

"I've got it! Hey PB, you see that candy brick in the wall?"

The candy princess looked over to a section of the castle walls that weren't destroyed, eyeing the object the hero was talking about.

"Yeah..."

The young man grinned.

"Press it."

Confused, and suspicious, the monarch walked over as everyone watched her carefully. Upon reaching the brick, Peebles gave it a push, making the candy stone slide back into the wall. As PB grew shocked at the secret button, the ground began to rumble around her friends' feet. Finn recommended the gang step back a ways as the candy pavement began to split. After another minute, the hatch in the ground opened fully and a platform could be heard rising within the hole.

As the audience's eyes froze on the object that emerged, Finn just crossed his arms with a proud look. From beneath the pit, rose a shiny red vehicle, appearing fully restored to its former glory with a new paint job, specially built tires, and reflective metal that shined in the sunlight. Emblazoned on the truck's front hood were the words _Hot Daniel_.

While everyone gave an amazed exclamation and surrounded the vehicle with astounded eyes, Finn looked over to Princess Bubblegum. She was looking at him with a cross expression. The hero shrugged nervously. The pink woman walked over to the truck and pulled open the passenger side door. She looked back at Finn.

"We'll discuss this later. Come on everyone, get in or get in the air."

Luckily, Ice King could still fly, so while he, FP, Solara, and Marcy took to the skies, Finn got into the driver's seat and his flightless friends got into the back. Gunter took her seat between the human and candy princess. As The young man cranked the ignition, the vehicle's motor hummed to life and Finn cranked it into drive. Jake called over from the back.

"Hey man how do you know how to drive?"

The human scoffed.

"Please dude, I kick your butt at racing games all the time. I just apply my skills."

The magical dog grunted but settled back in. As Finn hit the gas, everyone hung on while the hero pointed the truck in the direction of the kingdom's front gate, pushing nearly 50 mph. Although he was greatly enjoying the speed, all his friends hung tightly to the vehicle, asked the huamn to slow down at least a little bit. Unfortunately, he was having too much fun to notice the pleas, instead choosing to accelerate further toward the Ice Kingdom.

* * *

**_This weekend has taught me that I am way overextending myself by taking on three projects at once. I mean look how short this thing is! An the Archives are screwed up and everything, Gob what a mess. _**

**_Anyway, hope you enjoy and please review!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 28: Fooled!


	28. Chapter 28: Fooled!

Chapter 28: Fooled!

Numerous temporal distortions could now be seen as a crimson pickup truck hauling Ooo's finest heroes sped across the grasslands. The human driving was having difficulty dodging the abnormalities, as new ones were springing up every few seconds. Naturally, it wasn't a very nice ride for those in the back. They constantly tumbled around the bed, unable to grab onto anything to keep themselves balanced.

Finn shifted up a gear and slammed the gas pedal down, forcing the vehicle to lurch forward and avoid another anomaly. The next one was suspending several rocks in the air, which the human had to avoid by making some sharp turns, much to the annoyance of his friends. Jake finally got the idea to stretch himself over the rear end of Hot Daniel and form a canopy of sorts to keep Ferrum from blowing out of the back.

While the fire elemental thanked the dog for his clever use of powers, he stretched his face over to the driver's side window.

"Hey dude, you know you're not really that good at driving, right?"

Finn scowled.

"Pssh, well I'm sorry but the videogame doesn't make me speed around with a bunch of peeps in the back that complain. And besides, we're kinda in a hurry."

Jake felt a little bad at his comment now and retracted his face back to the truck bed. Meanwhile, Flame Princess, who was up in the sky scouting ahead for the vehicle, spotted the borders of the Ice Kingdom coming up fast. She also noticed the field of temporal damages were beginning to thin out, displaying a clear bath ahead.

The fiery girl got an idea and shot herself down next to Hot Daniel. Flying alongside the left part of the vehicle, she called over to her man.

"Hey Finn! The way ahead is nice and clear, wanna race?"

The human grinned and looked at the fire elemental with determination in his eyes.

"Oh you are so on!"

Smirking, FP suddenly blasted herself forward, leaving the truck in the dust. As Finn tightened his grip on the wheel, Princes Bubblegum turned to him with a skeptic expression.

"Finn, you know that Flame Princess can move a lot faster than this combustion vehicle, right?"

The young man chuckled as he reached over and flipped open the cover of a strange switch on the dashboard.

"We'll see about that."

PB raised an eyebrow, gazing at the object Finn was about to press.

"What is that?"

The human narrowed his eyes with a competitive smile, looking ahead at the road where FP was still gaining distance.

"Just a little something I borrowed from your lab."

The candy monarch's sights went wide.

"You WHAT!?"

Before she could argue any further, Finn flipped the switch and immediately put his hand firmly back on the steering wheel. The truck suddenly lurched forward with an incredible rate of acceleration. Jake was nearly ripped from the rear end as he struggled to keep his fingers wrapped around the metal edges of the bed. The man underneath the dog was thrown into his stomach. Unfortunately, Jake now had to deal with Ferrum's burning body beginning to char his own.

Inside the cab, Finn was flooring it as the nitrous continued to blast them closer to Flame Princess. The fiery girl noticed an approaching sound and looked behind her. She was shocked to see the red pickup zoom by, nearly tossing her aside with the force of the air stream it displaced. After shaking off her dizziness, the young queen grunted and fired herself after her opponent.

While Hot Daniel's tanks began to run low, Finn was giving no chance of slowing down as the Ice Kingdom came in sight. He was sure he would win, seeing FP's closing form in the rearview mirror. His confidence was high as he thought it through, explaining it to PB.

"See? I told you we had a chance. I calculated the rest of the distance and I know we can reach that snow bank before she catches up to us. We've got this!"

Peebles looked to the human with a somber look.

"But Finn, you're…"

Right as the truck was about to touch the glimmering white snow, a fireball shot past it, melting the substance instantly as the mass of flames pasted over the Ice Kingdom borders. The hero driving was stunned, unable to comprehend the loss.

"…terrible at math."

Finn was too shocked to notice that he was plowing them straight into the snow bank, causing the vehicle to lurch and slide around in the slippery material before finally smashing up against an icy stalagmite. The airbags smacked the young man and pink princess in the face as they were recovering from the shock. PB rubbed her aching nose as the bags deflated, annoyed by her friends' immature contest.

"Dang it Finn, this is not the time for games!"

The hero frowned, lowering his head to rest his chin on the steering wheel. A moment later, Flame Princess hovered over and landed by the driver's side window. She had a cheerful smile on her face as she looked at the gummy woman still treating her minor injury.

"Don't be so hard on him; acting childish is what kept Solara from cracking so I don't see the logic in arguing with a precursor."

She giggled as the angelic entity in question set down next to the girl, grinning with amusement. Ice King was on the ground a second later, messing with his wild hair.

"Man, it's gonna take a while to get used to the wind jazzing up my do."

Jake returned to his normal form, quickly pouncing on the ground and letting the cool snow relieve the burning pain on his stomach. Marceline laughed at the sight as she lowered herself to the fluffy surface of the Kingdom. Flame Princess leaned onto the edge of the open window sill, staring at Finn with a mischievous smile.

"So, since I won, don't I get a little something?"

The human grinned back at his fiancée and brought his face to hers, giving her a nice slow kiss that they held for a minute before PB coughed to get their attention. The lady had her arms crossed impatiently.

"If you two are done with your little race we should get back to the matter at hand, there's still a psycho getting ready to probably destroy the Ice Kingdom."

IK smacked his fist into his palm as he rose back into the air.

"That fool's going down."

Finn leaned out of the window and called up to the old wizard.

"Hey Ice King, mind giving us some road to work with?"

The ruler smiled with glee while holding up his hands, which were surrounded by his blue magical aura."

"Sure thing best buddy. Just say where you need to go."

The hero pointed toward the tallest peak in sight.

"How about there?"

Ice King nodded and aimed at the space in front of the truck. A moment later, he blasted the ground with his powers, slowly forming an ice path that rose into the air as it progressed toward the mountain. While Jake got back in the truck and the rest flew up, Bubblegum turned back to the driver with her skeptical look.

"Finn, there's no way the truck will drive on ice, there's too little friction."

The young man waved her off.

"Relax PB, this is an **adventurer's **truck."

He reached over and pressed a button on the dash. Within seconds, tiny metal spikes jutted out from the tires, covering the non-gripping rubber with a layer of microscopic chisels to dig into the frozen terrain. Finn hit the gas, causing the wheels to momentarily spin in place before shooting Hot Daniel forward, making the others inside brace from the acceleration.

As Ice King kept up the icy road creation, the red pickup seamlessly climbed the incline, gradually gaining altitude as the snowy peak approached. Those who could fly were flanking Hot Daniel on all sides, preparing to defend the less mobile object should they run into Astrum.

Once the gang had reached the mountain, Ice King directed the road to a small ledge near the top, which Finn quickly drove to and stopped. The group scanned the area from their effective vantage point, searching for a rift that heralded the arrival of the siphoner they were hunting down.

Sure enough, Marcy pointed out a floating portal high above, next to Ice King's castle. The old wizard raised his fists.

"That butt better not be in my house using the can. I hate it when people do that!"

Finn couldn't help blush a little. FP rolled her eyes as she saw this. The next uttered sentence sent a chill down everyone's spines.

"I'm afraid it's something much worse than that."

The gang turned to gaze at the mountain top above. Standing atop the peak, with his heavily damaged wrappings that served as his clothes and a look of displeasure set in his face, was Astrum. As the being continued to glare at his enemies, they all readied their weapons. All he did, however, was reach into his folds and take out a small vial containing an unknown mineral.

Princess Bubblegum narrowed her eyes.

"What's that you lunatic?"

Astrum ignored the question for the moment, uncapping the vial and holding it up to the cliff beside him.

"A little something I kept from a previous cycle. It reacts incredibly well with cold temperatures. I'm sure you'll agree."

With that, the dark entity released his hold on the vial, allowing it to fall rapidly to the snowy landscape below. PB pointed to the tumbling object.

"Somebody stop that thing!"

Marcy, Solara, Ice King, and Flame Princess all shot toward the dropping glass tube, desperately trying to stop the likely negative effects that its contact with the snow would result in. Astum meanwhile, teleported off of the peak. He reappeared between the flyers and the plunging vial. Immediately, the precursor drew up a runic barrier in front of all four of them. Ice King was the only one not delayed by the shield, blasting through it with his enhanced ice. FP and Solara swung around theirs and continued. Marceline turned invisible.

Astrum confronted the icy wizard directly, swinging down with a hammer of air, in an attempt to swat the old man out of the sky. Instead, an ice wall blocked the shot. A split second offered all the time IK needed to quickly melt his barrier and throw himself through the thin layer of water, catching Astrum off guard. He held back his fist and formed a tough casing of ice on it before firing it forward and hitting the precursor squarely in the jaw.

The man grunted and was thrown back. While regaining his balance, the dark being saw flame Princess about to grab the vial, while Solara was charging quickly at him, intent on landing a fiery blow. Astrum held out his hand to the falling beaker while also producing a rune barrier to halt the Ancestral Flame's attack.

The vial was within FP's grasp as it suddenly glowed with a strange aura. The fire elemental attempted to claim it, but found that it had disappeared. Looking around wildly, she spotted it several yards further below, continuing its fall. Flame Princess groaned, irritated by Astrum's temporal displacement.

While Solara battered away at the siphoner's shield, he reached out his hand again, aiming at Ice King, who was gathering a large mass of icy wind to whip the precursor's shield to pieces. A small current of air molecules was redirected from the wizard's influence, heading for his head and briskly knocking off his crown. The old man's eyes widened as his frost manipulation dissipated and he fell out of the sky, tumbling down to the ground fall below.

"Ahhhh! Someone help!"

Solara turned to face the direction of the plunging king.

"Simon!"

The fiery precursor abandoned her assault on Astrum's barrier and flew at great speed with the intent on catching the helpless old man. On the way to him, she caught his falling golden crown. Meanwhile, Astrum teleported again, reappearing right below Flame Princess as she was continuing her pursuit of the vial. His appearance caused her to recoil, giving him the chance to grab her by the neck.

As the fire elemental tried to burn his hand away, the precursor began pulling the air molecules away from the vicinity of the young queen. Before she knew it, FP's flames dimmed heavily, turning the elemental a deep shade of blue and sapping away her consciousness. As Astrum suffocated the girl, he failed to notice an enormous arc of energy headed right of him.

It was too late by the time he did. The colossal force slammed into him, releasing his hold on Flame Princess and creating a large gash in his chest. While the precursor was mercilessly thrown into a nearby mountainside, his wound began to leak silvery blood. FP recovered from her lack of oxygen and shook herself back to full focus. Astrum groaned from within the crater he lay in. From high above, on the ledge of the neighboring peak, Finn slid his infinity sword back into his pack and glared down at the precursor.

"I'd think by now you'd know not to go anywhere near my friends, least of all my lady!"

Astrum growled from his position.

"It doesn't matter, you're too late!"

Everyone suddenly realized they had forgotten about the vial. It definitely would've hit the ground by now. Solara scanned the area with Ice King next to her, having saved the old man from his fall. Neither of the hovering beings could see the tube, nor could FP. Then however, the princess pointed to a strange floating object reflecting the shimmer of the sunlight.

All eyes were set on the item, which was, to their surprise, the vial Astrum had dropped. The dark being was left astonished.

"How!?"

A mocking giggle filled the air as the beaker began to shake back and forth. Suddenly, a form materialized, holding the mysterious glass tube. Marcy was gleefully grasping the vial in her hand, gazing up to Astrum with a smirk.

"Did you forget about me so soon, loser?"

The gang all cheered as the Vampire Queen took a midair bow. The dark precursor however, simply gave a stoic expression and lifted his hand, quickly swiping it to the right. Distracted by the praise, Marceline wasn't able to keep her grip on the beaker, which fell to the ground just a few feet below.

"Oh crud!"

The vampire desperately tried to retrieve the object form the snow, but stopped when she heard an ominous sound coming from the area it had landed in. Everyone stared nervously at the snow as a sudden bubbling occurred, converting the icy substance into something different. Marcy backed away from the floor of the Ice Kingdom.

The newly formed material began expanding, motioning for those who had pursued it to head back up to the ledge where the rest of their friends were waiting. Astrum managed to regain some energy and teleported out of the crater. He reappeared atop Ice King's castle.

"Now you shall face true despair."

The gang watched in horror as the substance relentlessly grew in all directions, absorbing the surrounding ice to make it larger and move quicker. Soon enough, several mountains began collapsing, having had their bases eaten away by the corrosive liquid. Eventually, the peak supporting Hot Daniel also began to melt, sinking lower and lower into the ground, feeding the flood.

Ice King quickly began building new road for Finn to drive onto. The human floored the gas and began tearing down the ramp the wizard was fabricating. The Ice Kingdom began to truly collapse at this point, as every mountain in sight was now shrinking, adding their fuel to the substance below. Before they got much further, Finn shouted out to IK.

"Hey Ice King! Get us to your castle. We've still got to take care of that jerk!"

The wizard nodded, looking quite determined to carry out that plan. He directed the path toward his elevated home, which was also beginning to fall into the sea of liquid corrosion. Astrum eyed the group as they approached, not seeming to keen on retreating. Inside the cab of the truck, PB frowned.

"Why isn't he running away?"

Finn shifted to a higher gear.

"Maybe he just wants to stop being a major wuss."

The candy princess thought hard.

"But what does he get out of this? He knows the fourth Shard is at the Citadel, how does destroying the Candy and Ice Kingdom get him any closer to it?"

The human had no answer for that inquiry, instead choosing to continue closing in on their foe. At last, the dark precursor reacted, flinging aside several folds to reveal the three Shards he had collected. After charging a menacing sphere of black and red energy, he fired a devastating stream at Hot Daniel.

Reacting quickly, Finn punched out the special windshield and looked to the space in between him and PB, who was covering her eyes from the pieces of glass.

"Gunter!"

The little penguin stood up, allowing the hero to pick her up and bring her up to the opening. As the blast of evil came closer, the little bird got up to the hood and waddled a few steps to the front, staring blankly at the oncoming energy. Before anyone knew it, the entire force disappeared, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Gunter stood, stoic as ever, like nothing happened.

Astrum knew what was coming next, seeing how rapidly the truck was approaching him atop the mountain. He got ahead of the game, teleporting off the peak and reappearing right in front of the penguin on the hood. He stared hatefully at the bird as he reached down to strike her with his molecular powers. Before he could though, he received a slap to his cheek, stunning him as he gazed at the now glaring Gunter.

"Wenk!" she stated angrily.

Taking a step back, the tuxedo bird opened her beak and repulsed the terrifying force of evil point blank at Astrum. The man only managed to block with his arms before being hurled back at tremendous speeds. The gang all cheered victoriously as Gunter waddled back to the cab and Finn helped her in. he gave the small creature a pat on the head.

"Way to go Gunter. You showed him."

"Wenk."

Princess Bubblegum followed Astrum's flying body as it crashed through a mountain that was still standing. From the side of the truck, Marcy noticed her gaze.

"We really need the answer for how to smash those things."

PB sighed.

"There's nothing I want more right now."

The vampire suddenly gasped, floating closer to the open passenger window and reaching in to give the gummy lady a shake.

"Bonnie that's it! If you really want it more than anything then the Citadel is the key!"

The rest of the gang smacked their faces.

"Oh, duh!" Jake groaned. The others had similar exclamations.

PB reached up and touched the back of her left hand, where her insignia ignited and glowed brightly. She turned to her friends and nodded firmly.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay on him!"

The group nodded as Finn shifted up another gear, prompting Ice King to build the road toward the destroyed mountain where Astrum had impacted. As the candy monarch dissipated, Jake hopped into the vacated seat while Ferrum stood up in the back of the pickup. The young man driving narrowed his eyes as he spotted the dark precursor's figure appear out of the rubble of the mountain, which was still sinking from the overwhelming force of the corrosive liquid below.

"Alright guys, let's do this."

* * *

Princess Bubblegum reappeared in the central chamber of the Citadel of Truth, instantly startling Sentin and Index, who were studying the temporal disturbances around Ooo. The archivist approached the new arrival with concern.

"Princess, what happened, where are the others?"

PB gave a hard look as the guardian also joined in.

"I need to use my desire. We're out of time for figuring out how to neutralize the Shards of Evil."

The two precursors stared at each other for a moment before turning back to the gummy ruler and nodding. Index motioned for her to approach the orb as the artifact dispersed the holographic map it had been producing. It now hung in the room in its natural blue spherical shape. Peebles walked up and took a deep breath, staring intently at the object mysterious above her.

"Please, I need to know how to destroy the Shards."

The orb flashed a beam at the princess, dwelling into her thoughts and seeing if it was truly her wish. Satisfied, the relic ceased its scan and began to accelerate its spin. Before long, it turned a bright shade of orange, glowing brighter every second. As it reached an apparent peak, a thin laser shot out of its surface, striking PB right in her forehead. She felt nothing from it save for a slight fuzzy feeling.

Its task complete, the sphere cancelled its activities and calmed down to its once again harmonious rotation. Bubblegum closed her eyes, searching for the information that she needed. Index and Sentin anxiously waited. A minute later, the pink lady turned to them with a hopeful smile.

"I've got it! The Shards can only be destroyed by a power forged with Harmony's Origin!"

The two precursors grinned, quickly giving each other a fist bump, a habit they had picked up from Finn. Index used his power to lift up a nearby capsule and float it over to the trio. Within it was contained the fourth Shard, still emitting its fiery appearance. PB stared at the vile object.

"Once we deal with Astrum's shards, we'll come back and end this one. Then we can finally take the jerk himself down."

The two inhabitants of the Citadel nodded. They all smiled, overjoyed that now there was a chance. Sadly, that hope was cut short as Bubblegum's neck suddenly began to burn.

"Ow!"

The princess brought her hand to the area of the heat, only to not feel a thing. Soon enough though, a bright light was being produced from a strange X-shaped mark on her skin. Index gasped and hovered wide-eyed in shock.

"Oh no! That's a fate seal!"

Sentin kneeled down and began producing a yellow aura around the burning 'x'. PB began to struggle from the pain.

"What's…happening?!"

Sentin continued his task of trying to nullify the seal, but so far to no avail.

"Astrum must have placed this on you during one of your fights. It automatically activates once a certain requirement is fulfilled."

The pink princess began to drop tears from the searing mark.

"But…what did I do…that he would've wanted?"

Index was frantically thinking as his friend desperately tried to remove the seal. His eyes then met the capsule that was still hovering nearby and he froze.

"You…came to the Shard."

The three all gazed at the capsule, which began to glow as well. All eyes widened as the light from the container blinded them all, causing a momentary state of absolute silence before instantly vanishing. Sentin and Index stared in horror at the space in front of them. Princes Bubblegum was gone, as was the Shard of Evil.

* * *

Ferrum, Solara, and FP were consistently whipping around massive lashes of flames, trying to swat the dark precursor in front of them. Finn was doing his best to keep up as Ice King continued making more and more frozen road for the young man to drive over. The Ice Kingdom was nearing total destruction at this point, eaten away by the substance Astrum had introduced to the cold environment.

Marceline was busy strumming hard chords on her bass, making sure that the siphoner's teleportation remained negated. Gunter simply sat watching in the front seat, behaving as if nothing was going on. Jake was putting his stretchy powers to use as well, battering aside the various chunks of mountain that Astrum would occasionally hurl at them.

Even with the combined effort, the precursor should've been able to put up a better effort with his escape. This fact put everyone on edge. Finn was carefully focusing on the road, knowing how devastating it would be if they lunged off the road into the dissolving substance below. As he swerved to avoid a piece of debris his bro had missed, he voiced his thoughts.

"I get the feeling he's just stalling. You catching that at all?"

The yellow canine nodded.

"Yeah, tots man, I got a bad feeling in my gut. And you know how good my gut is."

The human acknowledged, looking back to the icy road. Suddenly, a bright light began appearing close to Astrum, causing the precursor to halt his retreat and face the phenomenon. The others gradually caught up to him. FP narrowed her eyes, attempting to make out the light.

"What do you think that is?"

Solara eyed the anomaly carefully.

"I'm afraid I have no clue."

However, everyone's questions were answered as the illuminated space suddenly shrank to a humanoid form, along with a strange container-like device. Finn's gaze was locked as he recognized the figure.

"Holy stuff! That's PB!"

The gang all gasped and accelerated toward their helpless friend, who was now being held up by the collar of her shirt. Astrum used his other arm to shatter the capsule with his powers, releasing the Shard within. The friends gasped as they realized the situation.

"He's got the fourth Shard! Step on it dude!"

Finn took his brother's advice and cranked up the backup nitrous tanks. After flipping the switch, Hot Daniel increasingly shot forward, forcing Ferrum to get down and lean against the tailgate. Having retrieved his prize, Astrum discarded Bubblegum's apparently unconscious form.

Flame Princess shot toward the falling monarch, quickly getting a position next to her and grasping her arms around the gummy lady's waist. With some swift redirection, the fire elemental pulled up and dragged the princess back to the crimson vehicle. Upon reaching it, she set the woman down gently in the rear end. Finn looked over at Jake.

"Dude, take over, I've gotta help PB."

The dog didn't question the request and grabbed the steering wheel while his human bud hopped to the back. Marceline and Solara were still keeping Astrum close, as the precursor resumed his escape.

Finn kneeled down next to Princess Bubblegum and took off his pack, rummaging around until her pulled out a half-full package. FP and Ferrum watched carefully as the hero opened the papery bag and scooped out a handful of sugar with his hand. He proceeded to dump the pure cane onto PB's face, where it slowly seemed to meld into her skin. Progressively, the candy lady's tone began to brighten and regain its pale yet rosy features.

Peebles finally opened her eyes slowly, gazing up into the sky while the three people surrounding her waited for her to say something. A moment later, the woman frowned.

"We were tricked. It all makes sense now."

Finn placed a hand gently on the monarch's shoulder.

"What do you mean Prubs?"

The pink ruler looked sadly at her human friend.

"Astrum knew that Ice King and I still hadn't received our desire from the Citadel. He attacked our kingdoms to push us to the point where we would want nothing less than to eliminate the great evil that he's wearing on his chest."

The group, including Jake and those in the air, all heard the revelation and began to understand. PB continued.

"When he grabbed my neck, he placed what Index called a fate seal on me. When I came to the Citadel and was in close proximity to the forth Shard the mark activated and transported us both back to him."

She shed a single tear.

"He used me to get it. I'm so sorry everyone."

Before she could let any more drops fall, Finn helped her sit up and then gave her a hug. The candy woman wasn't exactly expecting that.

"It's not your fault PB. None of us had known. You can't beat yourself up."

The gummy princess hugged the hero back, happy at his understanding.

"Thank you Finn. It means a lot to be forgiven when you mess up like that."

The human released his friend and smiled, then motioned to the rest of the group.

"We all know you'd never knowingly be impulsive. We were down to our last option. You just did what you knew was right."

Flame Princess took Peebles hand in hers, giving a light smile to the lady.

"Come on PB, what do you say we end this?"

Bubblegum wiped away her wet face and gave a brave grin.

"Alright, let's do it."

Everyone got back in position. Luckily, Astrum's teleportation was still knocked out by the interference from Marcy's bass. As Finn stared at their enemy ahead, Peebles spoke up again.

"There's a way to destroy the Shards. You have to use Harmony's Origin."

Finn and Flame Princess looked to the candy woman then to each other, giving a nod. The young man turned to Jake.

"Hey bro, cut the super speed."

The dog did as requested and the nitrous shut off. Now that he would have more stability, the human climbed up to stand on the roof of the cab. FP joined him a moment later. The two joined hands while the others stopped to watch. Solara smiled.

"Prepare to witness the true power of bonds between hearts."

All eyes were locked on the couple as they faced each other and pressed their foreheads together, smiling with their sight closed off. After a moment, the gang could all feel a strange energy being emitting from the pair, a warm, joyful feeling. The teens opened their eyes again and gazed into the other's deep stare. They shared a quick kiss before turning to face Astrum's retreating form. They raise their joined hands.

The friends gasped in awe as Flame Princess's body glowed a bright white and her humanoid silhouette began to shift. Finally, the girl now existed in the shape of an elegant spear, which Finn proceeded to spin a few times before raising it above his head. The bright light vanished, revealing the princess of flames' weapon form, complete with an amber coating and beautiful fire designs all across the length of the item. A purple infinity symbol was pulsing near where Finn was gripping the object.

_Phoenix Javelin._

The spear ignited, unleashing an incredible blaze that surrounded Hot Daniel and all the individuals around it. As Astrum took a second to look back to his pursuers, he was completely astonished by what he saw. Engulfing his enemies was a massive inferno, taking the phantasmal shape of an enormous fire bird. As the precursor gazed in shock at the entity, it let out a piercing screech, forcing him to cover his ears.

In that moment, Finn launched the javelin, zeroing in on the four Shards that hung from Astrum's chest. The phantom fire bird dived at the vile precursor, who had a look of absolute terror upon his face. As the flaming beast bore down on him, containing the unstoppable spear, the dark being desperately materialized as many runic shields as he possibly could to protect himself.

It was all for naught. The weapon seamlessly broke through each and every barrier. As the point of the javelin was but a few feet from the Shards, Astrum did the only thing his terrified mind could think of.

A deafening explosion filled the air, masking the twisted precursor's likely scream of pain. The Ooocians and Solara watched in amazement as the flames of the spear seemed to outright erase all matter nearby from existence. Marceline pointed down.

"Guys! Look!"

Briefly shifting their gaze to the ground, the group was stunned to see the corrosive substance was being neutralized. The horrifying liquid ceased its feast upon the ice and settled down, finally attaining a peaceful state that made it appear as an icy lake that ran throughout much of the kingdom. Finn was reminded of his dream.

_At least…it wasn't __**completely **__destroyed._

As the human mused at the thought, a single stream of flames exited the site of the explosion and landed next to him on the truck. It quickly regained its original form and appeared as the lady he knew and loved. Finn smiled, as she did, and gently placed his arms around her. Flame Princess acted first this time, leaning forward to kiss the young man passionately. It was always a wonderful feeling to synchronize their hearts, and it left a strange need to display their love afterwards.

The rest of the gang chuckled as they watched the couple share their moment of peace and happiness. The atmosphere felt pleasant for the time being, as the heat from the duo's attack had balanced out the bitter cold of the Ice Kingdom. As Finn and FP finished their kiss, they were embraced by Jake's stretchy limbs.

"Oh yeah! My bro and my soon-to-be-sis just kicked major evil butt!"

The friends all giggled a little as the couple blushed a bit, but they kept their smiles and just peered into one another's eyes. They felt free somehow, believing that the threat was finally over and they could settle down; get married, rebuild the kingdoms, and maybe finally...think about starting a family.

Reality is harsh.

A blunt impact was felt throughout the icy road on which Hot Daniel sat. Everyone turned in disbelief at the smoke cloud that still hung in the air from the javelin's explosion. The section of smog that obscured the path ahead suddenly contained a figure. At first, there was no way it could've been the chaotic precursor that had moments ago been seemingly vanquished. It just wasn't the right shape. But as a face emerged from the smoke, the crew was shocked for two big reasons.

It was in fact, Astrum, alive and giving the assembled friends the most cruel of glares. He was breathing frantically, and for good reason. His left arm and leg were gone. His left side had been heavily damaged, having no apparent skin whatsoever keeping his insides together. The corresponding side of his face had a frightening scar on it, which ran from his ruined eye all the way to the back of his head. Any hair that had been on it had been burned away, leaving a badly burned dome.

The precursor's right hand was being held to his destroyed areas, trembling as he used what little strength he had to keep his bodily fluids from spilling out and killing him. There were multiple burns and gashes on the parts of him that weren't completely vaporized, showing just how powerful Finn and FP's Harmony weapon had been. As the man stumbled forward, he lost his stance and fell to his knee, continuing to pant heavily. The position he was in clearly showed the intact Shards of Evil hanging from his scorched chest.

Princes Bubblegum was the first to speak.

"He…he sacrificed his left body…to save the Shards."

Astrum suddenly coughed up his silvery blood, gagging uncontrollably at the fluids rushing up his throat. Eventually though, he managed to lift up his head to stare hazily at his enemies.

"In the end…all the pain…will have been worth the cause."

Having spoken his final line, the dark precursor teleported away, leaving the heroes to gaze in unbroken shock at the spot that he had only moments ago occupied. They just stood there, disbelieving that after all they had done, all the chasing, all the destruction in Astrum's wake, that there had been the sense of triumph, only to have is come crashing down as their premature celebration allowed the siphoner to slip through once again, now in possession of all four Shards.

After what felt like forever, the gang heard a truck door slam closed. They broke out of their astonished trances and looked over to Hot Daniel. Finn was sitting at the driver's seat, a blank expression across his face. He closed his eyes momentarily before gazing back at his friends.

"Let's go. There's no giving up, no matter how many times we have to track him down."

Slowly, one by one, the human's friends nodded, regaining their confidence, determined once again to finish what Astrum had started. As those who couldn't fly piled into the truck, Flame Princess walked over to Finn's window. The princess placed her hand on the young man's shoulder. Her face was set in uncertainty.

"Finn…what if we-"

Her sentence was stopped as Finn placed a finger to her lips. He eyed her with a gaze that shot right through her, peering straight into her soul. He then removed his hold on the girl's mouth and leaned in, placing his forehead against hers.

"Flame Princess…One day, I'm going to watch our kids run happily through the grasslands."

That was all he said. No elaboration, no further comment, not even a smile. Only the most determined look that anyone in Ooo had ever seen. As FP stared in amazement at her fiancé's declaration, he shifted into reverse and swung HD around, pointing the pickup back down toward the road leading to the ground. The human floored the gas and drove back toward the grasslands.

Only the young fire ruler and Solara were left. The angelic woman stood next to her distant child and gently placed a hand on her back. She smiled at the departing crimson vehicle.

"The qualities of Infinity run strong through that man."

Flame Princess brought her hands to her heart, which was beating powerfully within her chest.

"I know. That's why I love him so much."

The two fiery beings shot into the sky, following after the speeding truck.

* * *

_**Well, just one chapter left in the first 'arc' of this story. Hope you guys are up for the continuation. **_

_**Hope you enjoyed and please review!**_

_**next:** _Chapter 29: Divided


	29. Chapter 29: Divided

Chapter 29: Divided

The sky was growing dark as the sun began its decent behind a far off mountain range. The fading light only made it harder to see the temporal anomalies riddling the grasslands, to the great annoyance of the human driving a red pickup across the plains. Finn was doing his best to swerve around various objects floating in midair or pitfalls created by time-space impacts. It was like being on an obstacle course.

The young man called to PB, who was sitting next to him studying abnormal readings on her watch.

"Can you find him?"

The princess nodded, even though the human never took his eyes off the road ahead.

"His teleportation distance is limited with the damage he's taken, the best I can tell he's only about a mile ahead of us."

Finn narrowed his eyes, trying to see Astrum's beaten form jumping through space. Sure enough, there was a dark figure vanishing and reappearing consistently, dashing away from its pursuers. The hero shifted up a gear and pressed harder on the gas, causing Bubblegum to get nervous.

"Finn, we can't just barge through those levitating rocks."

He only continued to accelerate, reaching for the lever behind the steering wheel. At first it looked as if he was just going to turn on the windshield wipers but instead he pulled it down and to the right, making a strange noise emanate from the front of the truck. Before anyone could ask what was happening, the panels of Hot Daniel's front end popped off and flew to either side of the vehicle, revealing what appeared to be heavily reinforced metal plating underneath.

Peebles' eyes grew wide.

"Where did you find the time to do all this?"

Finn scoffed.

"I've had years to do this."

The young man then proceeded to ram straight into the floating debris in front of the red pickup, smashing it to pieces and sending the bits flying in all directions. Those in the air quickly dodged them, avoiding getting pelted by the shrapnel. Marcy waved her fist in Finn's direction.

"Hey, watch it weenie!"

The human sent a quick apology then floored the gas again, barging through the rest of the hovering matter that had been ripped from the ground. Progressively, they were catching up to Astrum, who was still using what remained of his molecular powers to hold his grievous wound together. Jake suddenly figured out where the precursor was heading.

"Dude! He's headed for the tree fort!"

Everyone was chocked.

"Why would he go there?" Ferrum asked.

Finn thought hard for a minute along with everyone else. Then, it hit him.

"He knows that I'm always getting into dangerous fights. I'll bet he thinks he can find something to heal himself at the house."

The human turned to PB.

"Prubs, take the wheel."

The candy ruler looked at him like he was crazy.

"What! I can't drive!"

Finn patted the woman's shoulder.

"Sure you can, it's just like riding a bike."

Peebles frowned.

"I've never ridden a bike!"

The hero rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um…it's like processing nuclear waste while sewing?"

That was the best he could think of, figuring the steering wheel like the valve on a pipeline and the pedals like a sewing machine. And he knew that PB had done both of those. To his delight, the princess seemed to understand.

"Oh…ok, I'll give it a shot."

While Finn climbed into the back from the open window, the pink lady scooted over and gripped the steering. For a moment, Hot Daniel bean to swerve back and forth, causing the human to almost lose his balance. Eventually though, she managed to straighten out the path and the vehicle remained stable.

Finn looked to his friends as he pulled his infinity sword out of his pack.

"Jake, FP, Solara. Slingshot!"

The human's bro stretched his arms into the air, where the two fiery ladies took hold of them and positioned themselves on either side of the front of the truck. He then walked back until he was against the tailgate. Finn hopped down from the roof and placed himself against the yellow dog, giving a thumbs up. With a nod, Jake released the tension of his arms, flinging himself and the young man forward, firing the hero at high speeds toward Astrum's retreating form. Meanwhile, Marcy caught the dog's flailing body while he retracted his limbs.

As Finn rocketed through the sky, he kept his eyes on Astrum, of whom he was quickly catching up to. The dark precursor was too desperate to even turn and see how close his enemies were, which was bad news for him. The shooting young man raised his sword, preparing to drive the blade into the weakened being and end him.

However, Finn's attack was stopped by a most unlikely source: a massive black wing.

From afar, the human's friends gasped. Astrum noticed the clang from the blocked hit to his back and turned around. He looked at the scene before him with irritation.

"Finally."

The dark wing belonged to a massive bird, who was staring at Finn with wide yet sinister eyes. Its skin looked like the cosmos, a black canvas filled with thousands of stars. As the momentum from the hero's attack had been halted, he began falling to the ground. Luckily, he managed to land on his feet, albeit rather painfully.

Finn gazed back at the entity hovering above him, now gently flapping its dark, star-filled wings.

"Hooo!"

The human was absolutely shocked.

"Cosmic Owl!? What happened to you?"

The divine bird didn't answer, instead choosing to pull back its wings before throwing them forward with wind-breaking force. Instantly, the very atmosphere seemed to shake. Finn found it hard to keep standing, taking a knee while using his sword for support. Looking back to the sky, the human was astonished to see multiple star-like objects growing from the darkening twilight.

The rumbling increased, as did a now detectable thundering. The growing objects were glowing bright orange, and appeared to be covering a large area as they came. It wasn't until Finn recognized the phenomenon was a meteor shower that a terrified expression came to his face.

"Oh. My. Grob."

The massive barrage of falling rocks was unavoidable to the hero, who knew that even the splash debris from the meteors would surly blow him to pieces. He panicked, completely frozen in place. The young man closed his eyes, waiting to be pulverized. However, a second later, he was violently grabbed around the waist and shot forward. Opening his eyes, Finn saw Flame Princess embracing him, tightly holding her arms around her man.

As the meteors neared the ground, FP struggled to begin dodging the flaming rocks. Enormous explosions filled the air as the shower impacted the ground with devastating force, blowing out massive chunks of the grasslands' dirt. The fiery girl focused all her energy into swerving and turning, desperate to avoid getting leveled by a space boulder.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang had managed to stay out of the range of the bombardment, helplessly stopped at the edge of the destruction as they watched Finn and FP moving quickly through the raining fire. Everyone was tense; praying that the couple could evade every blow, for just one was enough to finish them both.

Finn got an idea and held up his sword with one arm.

"FP, carry me underneath, I'll slow down any that get close to us."

The fire elemental acknowledged and moved the human to her chest, where he positioned his head to be able to see the sky. With a bit of orientation, he began swinging temporal blades at any meteors that were likely to strike them. The rocks were split in half and levitated silently, cooling quickly and beginning to produce a cloud of steam.

After an agonizing trial of evasive actions and accurately timed swings, both teenagers finally exited the radius of the shower, tumbling to the ground exhausted. Their friends had gotten the initiative to drive around to the side where their companions now lay. As Hot Daniel grounded to a halt, the whole crew ran (and floated) up to them.

PB immediately checked to make sure they had no burns or other injures. As far as she could tell, they were just tired. The group let out a sigh of relief as the princess voiced this news. Slowly, Finn and FP managed to sit up, breathing heavily.

"Man, this is so not math. What the heck was up with Cosmic Owl?"

The young man's question was likely wondered by all, and so Solara stepped forward, a grim look upon her face.

"Astrum has corrupted him with a Shard. I'm afraid that it also gave him limited control over the deity, forcing it to work with him."

The friends all cursed the dark precursor, before Finn suddenly remembered something."

"Dang! We let him get away!"

He turned to look in the direction of his home. Unfortunately enough, the hero could just see Astrum's form blow away a section of the wall and enter the tree fort. The young man glared.

"He just keeps making this more and more personal. Come on, we've got to catch up."

The human stood up, having recovered significantly from the earlier activity. Flame Princess also got up, giving her fiancé a strong look.

"I'm coming with."

At first Finn was reluctant, but he knew better than to doubt his lady. He nodded and accepted the hand she was offering. The hero looked back to his friends. Jake gave a thumbs up.

"Don't worry dude, we'll keep the shiny bird busy. Go get that son of a toot."

The teens nodded and flew into the air, quickly aiming at the tree house. As the couple slowly shrank in the distance, the gang turned their attention to the skies, searching for the dark-infused owl. It was quick difficult at this point, as night time had arrived and the stars were coming out. The bird's new appearance would provide the perfect camouflage.

"Wooo!"

The group spun around to see the cosmic being floating before them, a stoic expression in its eyes. Everyone fired whatever they could at the deity, hoping to cause some damage. Sadly, the corrupted entity simply shielded its body with the powerful set of wings it possessed. None of the projectiles even made a scratch. PB cursed under her breath.

"It's no use. We can't battle a divine being, no matter how coordinated our attacks are."

Even Solara agreed with this declaration, floating back toward Hot Daniel.

"We have to leave. Go on, I'll hold him off as long as I can."

Everyone looked with concern to the Ancestral Flame.

"No way! We can't just leave you to fight alone."

Ferrum's protest was ignored by the angelic woman, who turned to face Cosmic Owl while also sending some flames to beckon her friends toward the truck. Regrettably, they knew there was no changing the precursor's mind and piled back into the vehicle. They drove off while Solara brought up a massive wall of flames in-between her and the great bird.

A moment later, she sent the wave of fire crashing down onto the being, seemingly burying him in an inferno of blue ribbons. Taking advantage of the distraction, the fiery lady shot off in the direction her companions had fled, staying behind in the likely even that the god-like bird was unaffected by her attack.

This was confirmed when Cosmic Owl phased into view right in front of the precursor. He opened his beak and began charging a form of energy in his mouth. Solara reacted and swiftly brought up an enormous shield of flames, hoping to block the shot, for if she dodged it, it would continue on toward her unsuspecting friends.

CO fired his energy, which came in the form of cosmic rays, easily piercing the Ancestral Flame's barrier and aimed straight at her. Unable to move fast enough, Solara closed her eyes and held her arms up defensively, hoping the hit wouldn't be fatal.

Lucky for her, it never came at all.

A secondary energy blast countered Cosmic Owl's dissipating both streams before the former could harm the precursor. Solara looked up to the source of the blast, as did the corrupted deity. The woman gasped, disbelieving in who had come to her rescue.

A little ways down the road, Jake gazed back in concern to see if the angelic lady had gotten away from the incredible power of the darkened owl. His eyes went wide as he witnessed the Flame's newest arrival. He quickly tapped everyone on the shoulder with his stretched out hand and fingers.

"Guys, look!"

Peebles braked and edged the truck to slide to the right, stopping at an angle that allowed her to see along with the rest. The gang was astonished. A few yards above Solara hovered a pinkish robed figure, wielding an elegant blue energy sword, and holding a serious look on each of its four faces, which were contained in a prism levitating slightly above its shoulders.

"Oh my Glob! It's Glob!"

* * *

Finn and Flame Princess made it to the breached tree fort, immediately entering through the hole Astrum had blasted into it a few minutes ago. The teens landed on the debris filled floor and instantly were on guard. The house sounded empty at first, but eventually they heard the smashing and rummaging of bottles from another room. Quickly, they followed the noises, dashing through the tree's hallways and toward the weapon room.

As they reached their destination, they found a trail of silver blood leading though the doorway inside. Knowing Astrum was present, the two brought themselves against the wall and carefully peeked in.

Sure enough, the greatly wounded precursor was frantically searching through a stash of Finn's magical potions, looking for anything that could improve his condition. He was noticeably frustrated, angrily smashing that which wouldn't help him. Finally, he stopped and carefully took hold of a rather fat green bottle. Finn recognized it immediately: his secret stock of cyclops tears.

The human nodded to FP, who returned the gesture and ignited her hand. Slowly, she concentrated the flame into an orb and closed her hand around it, appearing to try crushing the ball in her fist. A moment later, it was glowing white in her closed fingers. The princess motioned for her man to stand back as she tossed the orb into the room then braced herself. Finn followed suit as a tremendous explosion erupted in the room, blasting apart anything that was in it.

A pained shout was heard as tons of glass shards were fired out of the doorway. Finn and FP swiftly stepped inside as the shrapnel subsided. The smoke cleared out once the fiery girl blasted a few flames around the room, revealing a new hole in the house. She turned to her fiancé with a frown.

"Sorry Finn."

The young man placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok FP, this place is getting old anyway."

The two focused their attention back to the destroyed section of the tree, scanning the debris for Astrum. The precursor was nowhere to be seen. With great caution, the teens stood back-to-back as they progressed through the mess. Nothing moved at all, making them think for a moment that the being had been vaporized by Flame Princess's incendiary grenade.

However, they suddenly heard a groan form down below. Rushing over to the edge of the building, they spotted a pile of wood pieces on the ground far below. Among them was the dark entity they had been searching for, struggling to even move as he lay on his back. The couple did not hesitate and jumped off the building. FP got her arms underneath Finn's shoulders and gently but quickly got them both to the ground.

Astrum looked over to his hand, which was holding the top half of the bottle of magical tears. The bottom however, was completely gone, shattered on the grass nearby with a pool of liquid gathered around it. The precursor let his rage out, roaring with hate into the air as he use the resulting adrenaline to sit up.

Finn and FP did not give him a chance to threaten, attack, or retreat. They simply charged, both wielding a blade to strike down the siphoner. Astrum sadly realized he was doomed, unable to teleport or fight back. He scowled to himself as the teenagers began to bring down their weapons on approach.

At the last second, an entire wall of skeletons shot out of the ground, blocking the two blades with their undead bodies. Naturally, they fell apart form the power of the two swings, but Astrum was spared. The precursor sighed.

"It's about damn time."

Bewildered, Finn and FP failed to evade several pairs of bony hands that grabbed their ankles from underneath the ground. At first panicking, they easily freed themselves, only to meet more grabbing hands. Soon enough, armed warrior skeletons rose from the ground, brandishing their weapons at the two teens.

Astrum suddenly felt a rejuvenating jolt in his chest. Someone was placing their bony hand to his back. Turning, he saw a horse-headed skeleton wearing a sickeningly green hat and matching long sleeve shirt. His hollow eye sockets were quick frightening, but the precursor just glared back at them.

"Why must you deities be so slow?"

The skeleton did not answer but stepped back and waved his hand through the air. Finn and FP managed to break the undead warriors apart fast enough to see the following event. Several bones rose from the earth, quickly assembling themselves around Astrum's empty arm and leg sockets. After forming into two replacements, a green aura surrounded them and instantly began growing flesh and blood to cover the bones. Finally, a layer of rotting yellow skin formed, completing the repairs to the dark precursor's body. He stood up as the two teens watched in shock. The man tested his new appendages and found that they were adequate.

Turning to the side, he exposed the skeleton man to his enemies. Finn's eyes went wide.

"Death! What are you doing!?"

The being dressed in gardening attire simply stared at the human and fire elemental, keeping an extremely ominous feeling in the air. Astrum stepped forward, cracking the knuckles of his new arm while glaring at the two before him.

"The lord of the dead is under my control. There is no hope. With the might of your own universe's gods I will annihilate all of you!"

Finn and Flame Princess bared their teeth at the siphoner, who simply pointed to the pair.

"Kill them."

Death took several steps forward, standing between the couple and Astrum. He then raised his hands, releasing a green aura from his fingers that seeped into the ground. A few seconds later, countless skeletons climbed their way out of the earth, hungrily staring at the human and fire elemental. They in turn, readied their weapons, prepared to fight off the army of the undead.

As the numbers reached into the apparent dozens however, it was beginning to seem a little hopeless for the duo. The skeletons had even climbed onto the tree house, making it quite difficult to simply blast their way out into the air. Finn looked to his fiancée.

"You feeling ok with this?"

The girl smirked back at him.

"You're the one who swore to something a while back. I intend to watch you keep your word."

The human grinned with a light blush before looking back to the approaching waves of warriors. Before a single sword could be swung however, a large object suddenly smashed into the horde of bony soldiers, knocking them away like bowling pins. Death remained stoic and looked at the impact site, while Astrum grew a stunned expression.

"What in the-"

He stopped when the dust cleared and he saw the Cosmic Owl lying on the ground, slightly dazed. The dark precursor and his corrupted accomplice swung their heads around to look in the direction the great bird had come flying from. The same was done by Finn and FP, who were overjoyed by what they saw.

"Guys!"

The whole team was approaching fast, weapons drawn and charging at the horde of undead. Along with them was a hovering being that the couple recognized immediately.

"And they've got Glob with them!"

The four faced deity fired a blast from his sword, disintegrating several lines of Death's troops. Astrum grew an agitated look as he glared at the ruler of the underworld.

"Destroy them damn it!"

The horse-skulled entity simply called forth more bony fighters, while also materializing a wicked scythe from a burst of green fire. Now armed, the lord of the undead began approaching Finn and FP, who were now slicing apart numerous skeletons and pushing back the horde along with their newly arrived friends.

PB remained at the driver's seat, using Hot Daniel's reinforced front end to easily bash through dozens of enemies. Jake began busily smashing others with his enlarged fists while Ferrum and Solara burned down countless others. Marceline bashed more apart with her bass, seeming to be having fun. Ice King shot rounds of ice lightning from the air, breaking destroying additional bony soldiers.

Death wasn't exactly paying attention. He was still calmly approaching the two teens he had set his eyes on. Finally, Finn noticed the closing ruler and notified his lady, who refocused her attention on the corrupted gardener. The two coordinated a charge, dashing from two flanks to prevent the skeleton from swiping at both of them. They successful dodged the swing form his menacing scythe and brought down their own blades to take him down.

Unfortunately, the swords simply phased right through the lord of the dead, not doing so much as scratching him. The being then quickly turned and swung his blade again, unleashing a green energy arc that headed towards Finn. Acting fast, the hero fired his own blast to counteract the attack. The temporal arc collided violently with Death's splintering both and resulting in a massive explosion that threw nearly all the skeletons several feet away and forced everyone else back.

Solara shook her head to remove the dizziness from the force of the detonation. She spotted Grod hovering nearby.

"I don't think we can win this. We're outmatched."

The Martian deity narrowed his eyes.

"Perhaps, but I went out to get an old friend earlier. I just hope he shows up."

Confused, the Ancestral Flame just returned to incinerating the undead below. Meanwhile, Cosmic Owl had regained full composure and levitated into the air. He brought his wings back, preparing for another round of meteors. Everyone gasped as they noticed the stance, worried that the horrifying attack would end this battle, in favor of Astrum's corrupted gods.

Before the summoning could be completed however, a powerful yellow beam was seen heading straight for the darkened bird, who was forced to cancel his attack to block the blow with his wings. Even then, the entity was pushed back quite a ways. The Ooocians, precursors, deities, and undead all looked to the sky. All were amazed at the being who now hovered above the battlefield.

"Looks like I made it to the party just in time. Awwooo!"

Jake smiled in excitement.

"Party God! We all thought you were dead man!"

The giant wolf head grinned and floated down to the assembled group.

"As if. There's no party without me bro."

Marceline flew over to the deity and frowned.

"But what happened to you?"

The god of parties looked around and saw Ice King nervously floating nearby. Sweat was running down his face. Party God growled with a murderous look in his eyes.

"YOU! You're the reason I spend three years trapped in the orbit of Jupiter!"

Everyone gasped and stared at the ice wizard, who now looked quite frightened. Party God quickly got right in the old man's face and continued his death glare.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't rip your little blue head off!"

The king was terrified at this point, putting his hands in front of his face. Before the wolf deity could act however, Gob suddenly floated in between the two.

"Party God, grudges can wait. We must first do our duty and protect this universe."

The hairy head growled again, but decided not to argue further.

"Fine. But when this is over the wizard is dead meat!"

IK gulped. The two deities turned back to face the threat. Death had regained his senses and was again slowly going after Finn and Flame Princess. The couple was fast however, and rejoined their allies to make their stand. Cosmic Owl rose higher in the air and began charging another cosmic ray from his beak.

Everyone braced themselves for the coming fight. Suddenly though, Marcy looked around.

"Hey guys. Where's Astrum?"

The gang's spines stiffened as they saw that the Vampire Queen was right. The dark precursor was nowhere to be seen. Before another act could be done, a small impact noise was heard. The group all swung their heads around, looking for the source. They stopped when they saw Grob looking down at his chest in shock. The others soon noticed what was wrong and gazed in horror.

Stuck halfway in the four-faced being's body, was the fiery Shard of Evil. The Martian deity just stuttered, unable to comprehend where the object had come from. Sadly, he didn't have time to remove it. The Shard quickly absorbed into his body, sealing the crack it had left behind and entering the entity's core.

"NO!" everyone yelled in unison.

Grod began to twitch and shake violently. His colors darkened, first a shade of vile crimson then a harsh tone of shiny black. Eventually, the being stopped his fidgeting and calmly floated in the air. Astrum suddenly appeared behind the whole group, catching their attention as they turned to him.

The twisted siphoner held up his hand, displaying the remaining three Shards of Evil, which levitated above his palm. PB managed to shout out a demand.

"How did you do that!?"

The precursor pointed to the group's feet.

"**I **didn't."

Lowering their eyes to the ground, the gang gasped in fright. A massive humanoid silhouette was spread out across the ground, encompassing the entire area beneath the team. Slowly, the shade slinked its way over to Astrum, where it stopped, as if awaiting orders. Jake's eyes were trembling.

"Prismo…"

The wishmaster was completely dark, leaving a sinister red eye as his only feature. His stare was blank, not displaying any emotion. The heroes were heartbroken at this point, seeing each and every one of their world's protectors under the influence of the dreaded Shards that Astrum possessed.

As the gang continued its despairing stare, the vile precursor suddenly waved his hand, sending the three Shards to home in on the corrupted deities. The ruby Shard from Flame King landed in what was Prismo's chest. The bone Shard from the Lich flew into one of Death's eye sockets. The purple Shard from the Nightosphere amulet was swallowed by Cosmic Owl.

The four deities of Ooo now gained malicious auras around their bodies, glowing a dark orange, a raging red, a sinister green, and an ominous purple. Astrum stepped forward and raised his hands in the air.

"You have caused me enough delay to last a dozen cycles. Now you shall perish in the most untraceable method that can be achieved."

As the dark being spoke these words, three large rifts suddenly appeared behind the heroes. Instantly, an incredible suction was produced from each one. The gang was being dragged by a massive force, unable to escape the pull of the portals. They struggled as much as they could but to no avail.

Before anyone could react, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline were suddenly dematerialized. Their molecular forms were quickly absorbed into the portal nearest them. As everyone screamed for their friends, the second portal dissembled Ice King and Jake, sucking them inside its event horizon. Hopelessly calling to their friends, Finn and Flame Princess found themselves being torn apart as well.

As the couple embraced each other out of concern and fear, their bodies were promptly dissipated and dragged into the third portal. Solara had grabbed Ferrum and was desperately trying to blast away from the portals, barely managing to equalize the strength of the suction. Moments later, Party God shoved the two fiery beings away from the rifts, causing them to hit the ground with a thud.

Astrum glared at the giant wolf head and took a step forward.

"I have neither the patience nor the need to search for a fifth Shard. You can simply dwell in the astral plane, not to recover until all of existence is no more."

With that, the dark precursor teleported right next to the deity and grabbed him. A second later, he threw the hairy entity into the air, while Death, Glob, Cosmic Owl, and Prismo each fired a devastating energy blast at the helpless god. Solara and Ferrum watched in horror as the master of parties was struck on all sides by the vile blasts, falling to the ground defeated and severely injured. Slowly, he began to fade away.

Ferrum turned to the Ancestral Flame.

"What's happening!?"

The angelic woman gazed with despair at the disappearing Party God.

"When a deity is dangerously weakened, generally only possible after battling another god, their forms must retreat to the astral plane to recover."

The alchemist stared in horror as their last ally vanished from Ooo, leaving only Astrum and his four pawns. The dark precursor looked to his minions.

"Make sure they never return."

At his command, Prismo's two-dimensional form slithered after Ice King and Jake, Death calmly walked in to follow PB and Marcy, and Cosmic Owl flew in pursuit of the human and princess of flames. As the corrupted beings left the dimension, the three portals collapsed. Solara flew forward and glare at Astrum.

"What did you do, you monster?"

The siphoner gave the woman a stoic look.

"You're pitiful companions have been thrown through time **and **space. With the deities hunting them down, you can be sure that they will never be heard from again."

The Flame and Ferrum gasped in astonishment, disbelieving that their friends were gone forever. Astrum turned away.

"Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking control of this universe's time-space nexus. And don't think they can retreat to the Citadel, the portals disrupted the insignias on those fools' bodies. As for yours…"

The precursor nodded to Glob, who fired two bolts of red electricity at the fiery beings. They were unable to dodge and fell to the ground. As they painfully reached up to activate their insignias they only received a stalling spark from the symbols. Satisfied, Astrum teleported away.

Meanwhile, Grob was eying the plains around him, a strange look in his eyes.

"This planet, it is ripe for the taking."

The four-faced being pointed down to Solara and Ferrum.

"Walk away for now weaklings, spend your final days in safety. For soon, I shall unleash the full fury of Mars upon this world."

His goal declared, Gob shot himself at incredible speed into the sky, disappearing within seconds. The two fire beings slowly got up from the ground, shaken from the hits they had taken and from the Martian deity's threat.

"What can we do?"

Ferrum's voice was pleading, as if he thought Solara still had all the answers. Sadly, she looked to the ground.

"I…I don't know."

"Wenk."

The two turned around to see Gunter, stoically staring at them from the abandoned Hot Daniel. The penguin waddled over and stood next to the alchemist. Her face suddenly turned to a saddened expression.

"Wenk?"

Ferrum kneeled down to the bird with a defeated face.

"I'm sorry Gunter, but Ice King is gone."

The fire elemental was unsure if penguins could cry, but imagined that's what the little bird was beginning to do as it stood there with an expression that would make anyone feel depressed. Solara leaned down and took the devastated creature in her arms, gently rubbing its head.

"Come on," the Flame started sadly.

"The least we can do is warn every one of the coming threat."

Ferrum nodded solemnly and the three being headed for the truck. After flame shielding the inside of the cab, Ferrum put himself behind the wheel, hoping he could learn fast how to drive the machine. Solara got in the passenger's side, setting the sniffling Gunter in her lap. The alchemist cranked the ignition, causing Hot Daniel to sputter for a few seconds before rumbling to life.

As the trio headed off into the night, the stars continued to twinkle and shine as if nothing had changed, completely ignorant to the devastation that had just unfolded.

* * *

**_I just want to take this moment to thank all of you who have supported this fic so far. Every view and review is greatly appreciated, you guys rock! I must be doing something right if you're still reading this huge thing. _**

**_Thus concludes the first third of the story. Get ready for some serious craziness and epicness in the next arc._**

**_Hope you enjoyed!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 30: Orientation


	30. Chapter 30: Orientation

Chapter 30: Orientation

Darkness was the first feeling Finn managed to interpret. Not much different from the lack of consciousness he had earlier but this was distinct. For one, he knew he was awake now, as he heard several crickets chirping from somewhere nearby. Even so, the sounds were struggling to make it to his ears, suggesting that something was blocking their path.

Finally, the human regained control over his eyelids and cracked them open, peering into what appeared to be…his ceiling? He was surprised. How the heck could he have landed in a peaceful bedroom after being thrown into that crazy portal by Astrum? As he pondered the illogical situation, he also wondered why he could see the ceiling in the first place, considering that it was apparently nighttime.

Finding the nerves and muscles necessary to move, the hero tilted his neck in the direction of the light source that was gently causing the room to glow. His eyes rested on Flame Princess, who was quietly asleep on a bed against the other wall. He found it strange. There was no such bed in his house, not that he could remember.

Progressively, Finn pushed his returning energy down his tendons, bringing the rest of his limbs to life. After giving his hands a few cracks, he lifted his fingers to his eyes and rubbed them in an attempt to shake off the remaining grogginess he was feeling. Soon, the human managed to sit up against the backboard of the bed, rubbing his head while continuing to look around.

The extra bed wasn't the only thing that was out of place. In fact, the entire décor was utterly different. There was an awful lot of red, making Finn think for a moment that the portal had worsened his partial colorblindness. However, he could still see occasional green objects so that theory was disproven.

With some struggling, the young man scooted over to the edge of the bed and tried standing up. He nearly fell at first but then remembered how to walk. Slowly, he made his way over to his sleeping princess, who was still peacefully snoozing. Finn took a nearby chair and sat himself in front of the fiery girl. Even if things were fishy, FP was his primary concern.

The human ran his fingers through the fire elemental's crimson hair, marveling at how her beauty only increased when she was quietly slumbering. The rise and fall of her chest was perfectly rhythmic, matching the nearly undetectable breathing the young queen was producing. The way she was sleeping made it very tempting for Finn to lean in and kiss her warm cheek, but he figured if he had woken up feeling this terrible then he'd better let the girl get more rest.

Reluctantly, the human eventually decided that he should see what's going on rather than sitting there. Flame Princess was safe enough, and he could reach her from any point in the house at breakneck speed. With that, the hero stood up and took another scan of the room. He noticed the ceiling had no damage to it, which made no sense considering the crumbling wood that had fallen on him just the other night.

Moving on, Finn made his way to the doorway. The floor remarkably had very little creaks in it, which again, seemed impossible. Undeterred, the human walked through and entered the hallway. It was too dark to see clearly at this point but since Finn knew his house by heart, it made it easy to proceed onwards toward the ladder. Once he had found the steps to climb down, the hero carefully headed down to a lower level, hoping to solve the oddities witnessed in the bedroom.

The young man stopped at the floor where the weapon room was. Peeking in through the doorway, he was astounded to see it was perfectly fine, not a single plank or bottle out of place. Finn began putting together his best guess of the situation based on what he knew. Perhaps the portal was a hallucination. Perhaps the gang, Glob, and Party God had beaten Astrum and freed the other deities from his influence. The Shards were destroyed and everyone helped rebuild the trashed tree house.

It could've happened. But then, what about the redecorating? How long was he and FP out? And wouldn't there be someone at the house to watch over the two until they woke up? Confused beyond measure, Finn chose to go down to the kitchen and get some water to help clear his head. As he went back up the ladder, the human couldn't help but feel like there was something else different. He could swear several parts of the wood were slightly charred, but Flame Princess couldn't have done that, neither could Solara, and Ferrum knew to shield the place when he came in.

When the young man reached the correct landing, he stepped out and examined the living room. It, like the other areas of the house, was decorated primarily with red furniture and objects. Finn looked around for the candle that was lighting up the floor but was stunned to see that the source of the light was far from a simple piece of burning wax.

Sitting on the couch, with its feet up on the table and fast asleep, was a male fire elemental. The shocking part was it wasn't Ferrum, or anyone else the human knew for that matter. Instinctively, Finn reached back to pull out his sword. Unfortunately, he didn't have his pack with him. He cursed to himself before carefully backing away and searching the room of a weapon. The elemental continued to snooze, snoring every once in a while and mumbling at other times.

As the hero crept his way toward a nearby ax hanging on the wall, he suddenly stepped on a board that was still creaky. The squeaky noise produced by the wood immediately caused a reaction. The fiery being on the couch shot open his eyes and did a front flip, landing with his flaming hand pointed in Finn's direction. The human froze and held up his hands, not wanting to start a fire fight in the vulnerable house.

"Who are you and what are you-!"

The elemental stopped his demand and lowered his fiery fist, gazing at Finn with surprise.

"Oh…it's you."

The young man (by the looks of it, around Finn's age) walked up and quickly gave a friendly smile.

"Sorry about that, every once in a while some butt tries to break in."

Finn was totally lost at this point, raising an eyebrow at the grinning fire being. A moment later he was able to ask a question.

"Um, what are you doing in my house?"

It was the elemental's turn to be confused.

"Uh, this is **my **house, dude."

Now the human was plain out dumbfounded. He thought for a moment he had gone crazy. He held his hand to his forehead, trying to feel for a fever but found none. The fiery young man tilted his head.

"You ok? You were pretty banged up when I found you and your lady."

Finn grew a little suspicious.

"How do you know she's with me?"

The elemental pointed to the hero's hand, which held the golden ring that told Finn he was close to his beloved princess.

"Oh, right."

The young fire being nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Although if I may ask, who are you?"

The human shook off a bit of his headache and looked to his companion.

"I'm Finn, Finn the Human."

The fire elemental was shocked.

"Really? I mean, it's kinda hard to believe that, seeing as you were *cough* cuddling with your girl when I found the two of you passed out on my lawn and you weren't burning up."

The glowing young man narrowed his eyes at Finn's chest.

"That's not a magical amulet that protects against burns, is it?"

The hero looked down to see his infinity necklace, hanging as shiny as ever from his neck. He then looked back to his host and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, no. It's a long story."

The fire elemental shrugged.

"Well Finn, you seem cool so feel free to stay as long as you need to. Same for your lady, of course."

Finn nodded, smiling.

"Thank you. And uh…who are you by the way?"

The young man held out his hand, which the human took and shook. It was then that the hero remembered it would still burn, but was surprised that his skin remained unharmed. Thinking for a moment, he figured that reaching Harmony's Origin had fully unleashed his fire elemental heart, allowing him to contact other flame sources besides his fiancée.

"The name's Flint, at your service."

The two boys grinned with mutual chumminess and released their shake. Finn then noticed another light coming from the ladder. Both he and Flint turned to gaze at the event. A second later, Flame Princess's fiery form appeared, still a bit wobbly from waking up. Her man quickly sprinted over to help her stand before she managed to fall over.

After walking her to the couch, Finn got her to sit while comforting the dizzy fire ruler. Flint walked over and waiting for his guests to gather themselves. After another minute, FP blinked a few times and looked at Finn. She instantly embraced him, causing the young man to lose a good deal of the oxygen in his lungs.

"Urk…FP…I can't…breath."

The princess released her fiancé and gazed at him with a few tears in her eyes.

"Finn, I thought I was alone! I didn't know where you were!"

Her voice was frightened and relieved at the same time. He took the fire elemental's hands in his and stared into her amber eyes.

"I'm sorry; I should've waited for you to wake up."

FP went in for another hug, which the human allowed and returned. After a moment, a cough was heard and the couple separated, turning their attention to Flint, who was still standing there awkwardly.

"Um, I'll just…go get some drinks."

The fiery man wasted no time jogging over to the kitchen as Finn and FP stared after him. The young queen looked questioningly at her man.

"Who was that?"

The human gave an uncertain expression.

"He said his name is Flint, and that this is **his **house."

The princess was shocked.

"What!? That's total bunk!"

The hero rubbed his chin, thinking hard.

"I don't know. I looked around the place. There's no damage whatsoever and the interior design is flooded with a bunch of red stuff."

Flame Princess looked around the room to confirm the young man's discovery. She then gazed back to the human.

"But then, what happened to us?"

Finn looked hard at the table for a moment before turning back to his lady.

"I think…that portal threw us into a different dimension."

The princess of flames gasped quietly, stunned by the theory.

"Are you sure?"

The hero nodded.

"It makes sense. Astrum couldn't deal with all of us combined so he spilt us up and sent us to different universes. I guess in this one I'm a fire elemental."

FP was now also in deep thought.

"What did you say his name was?"

Finn looked curiously at his fiancée.

"Flint."

Flame Princess stared down at the table, obviously occupied by something.

"Flint…that name. It's somehow…familiar."

The young man was intrigued by the comment.

"Maybe you know someone from the Fire Kingdom?"

The girl shook her head.

"No, it's not that. Just…somehow…I **know **that name."

Both teens sat confused when their host called from the kitchen.

"I'll be back in a sec, guys!"

Finn gazed at FP with a serious look in his eyes.

"Listen Flame Princess, we should probably keep the whole 'other dimension' thing a secret. I don't think it's right to mess up these peeps' heads with all the complicated junk we've been through."

The fiery girl frowned, seeing as this violated her preference of telling the truth. On the other hand, Finn had a point. Reluctantly, the princess nodded. Flint suddenly popped back into the room, carrying a tray of water and what seemed to be lava. He set the platter down on the table and brought up his own chair to join his guests.

"So, who might you be, miss?"

FP shot a nervous look at Finn, who gestured for her to just go along with it until they needed to insert some 'details'.

"I'm Flame Princess."

The male elemental frowned.

"Hm, well that doesn't seem right. The Fire Kingdom doesn't have a princess right now. Trust me, I would know."

The fiery girl eyed Finn again, who motioned for her to make up something believable. Turning back to Flint, the young ruler gave a small smile.

"Oh, well, you see, Finn and I aren't really from around here."

Flint appeared confused. The human stepped in.

"We're from a different continent, we came here to um, go on our honeymoon."

Luckily, Flint was focusing on Finn and didn't notice FP blush. The hero continued.

"And where we come from there's also a Fire Kingdom."

The male elemental seemed to buy it, as his expression turned to one of understanding.

"Ooooh, ok. That makes more sense. Well, welcome to the land of Ooo."

He raised up his arms to gesture to all around them. The couple smiled.

"Thank you," Finn replied.

Flint sat back in his chair, while Flame Princess reached to take a drink. The fire elemental was confused when the girl grabbed a water glass. His amazement exploded as he watched her raise the liquid to her mouth and gently let it slide down her throat, with no harm done to her flaming body. As FP put the glass back down, she noticed Finn had a somewhat hidden expression of nervousness. Confused, the young queen looked back at Flint, who was staring at her with a wide mouth.

"How did you…?"

Flame Princess suddenly realized what she'd done and put a hand to her cheek.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

Finn was quite impressed by how well she was playing this. Flint shook off his astonishment and sat dumbfounded.

"Well, I mean, you just drank **water**! How are you still alive?"

FP giggled.

"Oh! I see. Where we come from, fire elementals can freely contact water."

Flint shifted his sight back to Finn.

"And I suppose that your fire resistance has a similar explanation?"

The human nodded. His host took a breather.

"Wow. That's some crazy place you come from. What's it called?"

Finn dug through his mind, trying to think of something that wasn't in Ooo. He came up with a name that Marcy had once said before.

"Europe."

Flint laughed a little.

"Ha! Yep, that sounds weird all right."

The trio all joined in hearty laughter before calming down and taking some more drinks. Flint eventually took the empty glasses back to the kitchen then returned to continue talking with his new friends.

"So, you two have some pretty nice folks back home?"

The teens looked sadly at the floor. Flint frowned.

"Aw dang. I'm sorry, that was insensitive to ask so suddenly. I should've started with something a little less personal."

Finn raised his hand.

"No, no, it's fine dude. You couldn't have known."

The human let some time pass before asking his own question, although quite sure that he knew the answer.

"If it's ok to ask, what about you?"

Flint let out a small smile which mixed in with his saddened expression.

"Well, mom's around, although she's always busy with a bunch of stuff. I hardly ever visit, I don't like to get in her way. Dad…I barely ever see him. He shows up like once every few months or so. Pops in, says hi, spends the night with my old lady, then heads back out the next morning."

Flint slumped a bit in his chair, sighing.

"I wish we could do some family stuff like back in the good old days. But I doubt that'll ever happen soon."

Aside from the obvious surprise that this apparent alternate universe Finn had parents, the human felt rather sad for the poor guy. He had the loving family but they never had time to be together. The hero looked to FP, seeing that she was thinking the same thing. Flint looked out the window, seeing that the sun was rising, and stood up.

"Well, I've got some stuff to do today. Like I said, you two are free to stay as long as you like, or stop by later if you're going out to continue your 'arrangement'."

The couple turned a bit red. The male elemental gave a grin and walked over to the wall where the ax was hanging. He grabbed the weapon and slung it over his shoulder, heading back to the opening that led to the rest of the tree house. Before going down the ladder to the lower floor, he gave a final wave to his two guests.

"Gotta go slay some evil dudes. See ya Finn, Flame Princess."

The couple waved back as Flint disappeared down the hollowed out trunk. Immediately, the two began discussing.

"Well, it's nice that we landed in a friendly dimension at least. But how do we get back?"

FP's concern was the very thing Finn had been pondering for the past few minutes. He suddenly had a brain pop and snapped his fingers.

"Wait! We can just go back to the Citadel then we should be able to get back to Ooo from there."

The two reached over and touched their insignias. All that happened was a small spark, nothing more. Confused, they tried it again, receiving the same sparks. Finn grew frustrated.

"Ugh! Dang it, the portals must have shorted them out. Figures."

The hero tightened his fist.

"That jerk isn't that dumb sadly."

FP nodded solemnly. Finn slowly got up and offered his hand to help up the princess. She accepted and the two walked over to the ladder. After making their way back to the bedroom, the couple decided they were still pretty tired. Finn let out a yawn.

"Well, I guess we can crash here for a bit until our strength comes back. After that we should probably ask Flint if he knows anyone who can help us find, or make, a portal back home."

Flame Princess sighed.

"I hope the others are alright."

Finn gave the girl a hug and a hopeful smile.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Our friends are as tough as they come."

The fire elemental seemed to brighten a bit and placed her head against the young man's chest. He held her close as they both took a moment to give their far off companions some hope. With that, the two went over and lay down on the bed. They cuddled up and rested their aching limbs on the soft animal pelts. FP smiled as Finn played with a few strands of her hair.

"You know, I didn't sleep that well."

The human gave an amused grin.

"Oh yeah? How come?"

The princess nudged her head forward and gave the young man a kiss, pulled back, and gazed endearingly into his blue eyes.

"Because you weren't there next to me."

The hero grew a little red.

"Is it really that big a difference?"

Flame Princess got closer and placed her arm around her man's abdomen. He in turn lay on his back and placed an arm behind her shoulders. The fire elemental used his chest as a pillow.

"After all that time being on my own in the kingdom, yeah, it makes a lot of difference."

Finn sighed happily as the princess closed her eyes. He was about to do the same before he was interrupted.

"Finn…can I…ask you one more thing? Just to get it out of the way?"

The human was confused but also curious.

"Um, sure. Go ahead."

FP seemed to shift uneasily in his grip.

"Do you think I…look nice?"

Finn was quite lost by the question. Before he dwelled too much into it though, he decided to just go along with what he thought she was asking.

"Flame Princes, you know I think you're beautiful. You always have been."

The fiery girl seemed to sigh quietly.

"That's…not exactly what I meant."

Again, the young man was just plain out of it. He couldn't figure in the least what his lady was asking.

"Well, I guess I'm not really understanding the question."

FP tilted her head up to look at him in the eyes.

"I mean like…physically, not just my appearance."

Finn felt himself freeze up, too much to even blush at this point. Rapidly, he ran through his mind looking for some sort of mental notes or advice that could help him react in the best way possible. He remembered the book _Mind Games_, then immediately mentally punched himself for even considering that. He remembered Jake once saying that a lot of girls are sensitive about their bodies. That was the right subject but it wasn't helping. Lastly, he thought of Flame Princess, who was eagerly waiting for him to say something.

_Darn it Finn, talk man, don't just leave her hanging, it's your responsibility to be honest._

_Oh yeah, honest. _

Duh. Finn briefly cursed the part of his brain that was still stupid.

"Flame Princess…"

The fire elemental continued her gaze into the ocean blue irises of the human. He meanwhile started gently caressing the fiery girl's arm.

"In that regard, I think of you like the sun."

The flaming girl's expression changed to one of curiosity, yet still with a hint of concern.

"The sun has elegant, flawless curves, forming it into the most perfect shape that lets out all of its wonderful bright features, from the golden light that warms my skin, to the gorgeous 'crown' that surrounds its soft colored skin. It's there every day to give me something captivating to look at, admiring this incredible creation of nature. It makes me think, how could I be allowed to gaze and feel such a benevolent force of passion and comfort."

FP was stunned for a few moments, simply lost in the world of Finn's dark pupils, as if peering within to determine if all those word were true. That wasn't necessary though, the bond between their hearts made it clear when either of them was lying, and the only thing Flame Princess could feel from Finn's heart was a beat that perfectly matched hers. She let out a single lava tear, which the human promptly brushed away with a gentle finger.

The princess suddenly buried her face into the hero's shirt, while at the same time squeezing him beyond breath again. He held on, knowing that it was no big price to let the girl take in his statement, which he had truly pulled directly from his heart. He had taken the strings within the core of his compassion and threaded them together as seamlessly as if he were a master. But in truth, he knew the real reason it was so simple: at that very moment, Finn the Human had finally embraced his true, fire elemental passion, giving it in full to the one that he wished to stay beside for the rest of his days.

"I love you Finn."

"I love you too FP."

* * *

Mid-afternoon arrived before the couple was rudely awakened by a loud crash. The entire tree fort shook quite violently as a large force slammed into it. Anything that was on the walls instantly crashed to the floor, some of it breaking, some of it bouncing around and knocking down additional objects. Luckily, Finn held on to Flame Princess, making sure the fiery girl wasn't thrown off and shoved to the floor.

Catching a break in the quake, the human told his princess to fly out of the house while he went to investigate. On the way out, he noticed his pack and sword lying near the cabinet. He took both. As FP blasted her way through the bedroom window, Finn leapt out of the doorway and down the ladder.

Once he hit the bottom, the hero charged past the fallen items on the floor and burst out the front door. What he saw was both awesome and frightening.

A massive slime creature was next to the house, angrily swatting at something that was stuck in its side. It took a minute, but Finn spotted Flint hanging on for dear life with his ax buried deep in the monster's guts. The beast had no eyes, but plenty of octopus-like tentacles with which to lay waste to anything within range. Unfortunately, that thing happened to be the fire elemental's house.

Acting quickly, Finn brought out his weapon and aimed it at the monster. With a quick swipe, he unleashed a temporal arc right at its base (as it had no legs). The blade of energy grew as it approached the slimy beast, which was still too busy trying to bash Flint to notice the second enemy.

A swiftly as butter, the arc sliced through the slime body, causing the monster to roar in pain before beginning to crash down to the ground. Flint began to panic, thinking there was no way he would survive being smashed beneath that much goop. Before he could start praying to Gob though, a strange force suddenly froze him and much of the material around him in a form of stasis.

While the slime beast's fall triggered another quake, Flint remained suspended in midair, completely bewildered as to his predicament. It was then that he saw Finn standing below, a smirk on his face and his cobalt blade resting on his shoulder. The fire elemental was confused for a moment, before the human suddenly tapped the infinity symbol in the cross guard of the weapon.

Instantaneously, the field surrounding Flint disappeared, leaving the young man to fall quite a ways. Lucky for him, Flame Princess came around to catch him and flew them over to Finn, who was sliding his sword back into his pack. After thanking the princess, Flint walked over and stared wide-eyed at the weapon his friend had just replaced.

"Can I get one of those?"

The human chuckled.

"Sorry dude, one-of-a-kind."

Disappointed, Flint frowned while FP also came over to the two.

"Since when could you just turn those things off?"

Finn shrugged.

"Just a lucky guess."

Flame Princess shook her head with a grin while Flint went over to retrieve his ax. After pulling it out of the ground, he proceeded to throw it at the head of the recovering slime monster. Instantly, its body exploded, sending gunk everywhere. Irritatingly enough, FP took a big hit of it, yelling out in disgust. Flint grew a nervous expression.

"Oops. Sorry."

The young queen groaned and turned to the tree house.

"I'll be in the shower."

Finn nodded understandingly, but Flint furrowed his brow.

"Shower? She's made of fire; she could just burn away the goo."

Finn chuckled.

"She says it's more fun the hard way."

The male elemental looked to the human with a freaked out expression.

"No offense but, you guys are weirdoes."

Finn just laughed.

"Haha! Yeah. So uh, what's with this?"

He motioned to the remains of the slime beast. Flint rubbed the back of his neck.

"Apparently, those guys carry grudges if you slay a few…dozen…of their, slime, sibling, things. Honestly I thought it would've been easier."

Finn shook his head.

"Dude, axes are the wrong choice, you've got to have a sword. You have to learn to pick the right weapon for the right evil guy."

Flint let out a breath.

"Yeah, I know. It's just…dad was never around to teach me this whole adventurer and hero stuff. I'm still a noob."

The human felt worse now for his elemental buddy. He gave the young man a pat on the back and smiled.

"Don't worry man. How about this, I'll teach you some of the basics. That sound good?"

Flint grew a hopeful smile.

"That would be righteous."

The hero laughed.

"Well, you've already got that down."

The two walked back over to the house and began talking about various techniques and statistics to keep in mind while fighting or dungeon crawling. Flint listened intently as his companion kept on lecturing. Even as they began cleaning off the crud that was stuck all over the tree house, Finn continued to rattle on about traps, guardians, and treasure chests. The human could tell at this point that the fire elemental had never been taught, most people would fall asleep listening to his talks. He was starting to feel like Princess Bubblegum.

But Flint had never had his head filled with the proper tutelage, he never had a starting point and now here was an alternate dimensional being explaining the mechanics of taking down rock golems and snow-a-constrictors. Whether he'd admit it or not, Finn was actually having fun being the teacher for once. As they finished working on the clean-up, Flint went out to practice what he had learned, thanking Finn immensely for the guidance.

As the human watched his friend run off into the lands, he smiled. It was so strangely satisfying to teach. He had never had that instinct before, what had changed? Before he could question in any further, he felt two warm arms wrap around him. Flame Princess placed her head against the hero's back. He grinned.

"So, did you have fun watching?"

The fiery girl tried to play innocent.

"What do you mean?"

The human turned around and placed his arms around the princess's waist, smiling accusatory.

"You're telling me you took an hour long shower?"

The fire elemental gave up.

"Ok, yeah. I watching you teach Flint for like the whole time."

She looked oddly at the ground.

"It's just, it looked so much like a father teaching his son. I thought it was really enjoyable to see you having that parental intuition."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Wow. I never knew that was part of the parent job."

FP giggled.

"Of course dummy. And I think you'll do great someday."

The couple embraced for a minute before breaking off and waking back to the tree house. As they climbed the ladder inside to the bedroom, Finn remembered something.

"So I was thinking, tomorrow we could see if the PB or Marcy from this universe know anything about time-space portals. Maybe they could send us back."

The two contemplated this idea up until they were back in bed. At that point though, they were exhausted again and began falling asleep. Flame Princess gave a great yawn before setting her head down on her man's chest.

"You know. I still wish I knew why I feel like I know Flint. I can't put a face to it, but there's something in my head that just screams out the name."

Finn shrugged while staring at the ceiling.

"Who knows. Maybe you'll figure it out tomorrow."

FP sighed.

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

* * *

**_Nothing to say this time._**

**_Hope you enjoyed and thank you for any comments!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 31: Bombshell


	31. Chapter 31: Bombshell

Chapter 31: Bombshell

If it weren't for the intense heat nearby, PB probably would've never gotten out from her state of unconsciousness. Opening her eyes, the pink lady gazed upon the scene before her. It was nothing short of a nightmare.

She was in some sort of urban area, surrounded by immeasurably tall buildings that all had dozens of windows, or, were made of glass altogether. Nearly all the glass was broken; either shattered, cracked, or just plain missing. The skeletons of several of the structures were visible, revealing the crumbing rooms and offices underneath. Chairs, desks, and various other items were scattered on the floors and hanging precariously out of the edges of the torn apart skyscrapers.

The ground was no better. The sidewalks were greatly damaged, with large sections completely blown apart and others heavily cracked and sporting numerous scorch and impact marks. Discarded accessories riddled the cement platforms, as if anyone who had passed by simply threw away the items they were wearing. Purses, backpacks, wallets, key chains, all of it, lying around as if they were pieces of litter.

The stores along the street were all vandalized, having had a brick or two thrown through their display glass so that people could rob the place. Some of the shops were even on fire, slowly consuming whatever products may lie within. Graffiti was also present, encompassing a good deal of the walls that weren't destroyed. Most of it was illegible, but what could be read by the princess gave omens of death and disease, making her shudder a bit.

The street itself was just as much, if not more, wrecked than the sidewalks. Crushed, torn, and burning cars flooded the ruined asphalt roadway, making it near impossible to hope for a swift exit from the catastrophic destruction. Noticeably, several green vehicles dotted the roadside as well. There were heavily armored trucks, transports, and even a tank lying upside-down in the middle of the street. Peebles noticed that she was leaning on one of these distinctly colored trucks, which was the source of the high heat to her body, as it was on fire.

Frightened, the candy woman quickly jumped away from the burning wreck, worried that the gas tank might explode. She was lucky that Marceline's stories of the old world convinced her to research the mechanics of combustion vehicles, as the monarch was sure the info would come in handy one day.

_Marcy._

Bubblegum got up from the ground and began rapidly turning her head in search of her friend, who wasn't in sight.

"Marceline!" she called out.

There was no answer. Afraid for the vampire's safety, the gummy princess ran up to a nearby pile of cars and started climbing to the peak of the twisted metal. Once she reached the greatest height, the ruler once again scanned the area, looking carefully for the form of the raven-haired girl. After a minute, PB spotted something else altogether. A distinct shape that the lady recognized was sticking out from a different pileup of vehicles. It was Marcy's red ax bass.

Peebles hopped across the wasteland of destroyed cars to reach the glimmering blade that had acted as a beacon. Upon closing in on the instrument, she finally saw the person she had been looking for.

"Marceline!"

Bubblegum kneeled down to examine the vampire's condition. She was still knocked out but appeared to be fine for the most part. The girl had landed in the exposed trunk of one of the vehicles. Her bass had fallen nearby, still being gripped lightly by Marcy's pale hand. Carefully, PB lifted her friend onto her shoulders and hung the ax on the cord around the passed out teen's back.

With a bit of struggle, the princess managed to haul the both of them out of the junkyard of ruined metal and over to a shredded couch lying upside down on the sidewalk. After placing Marceline down gently against the remaining fluffy material, Princess Bubblegum got to her knees placed a hand on the vampire's shoulder, giving it a little shake.

"Marcy, hey, Marcy?"

Eventually, the dark haired lady woozily opened her eyes, taking a moment to stop them from spinning all over the place. Once that had been accomplished, she looked around and found the image of PB's face, which had a relieved expression upon it.

"Bonnie? What happened?"

Peebles helped her companion sit up a bit more and get into a more comfortable position. Afterwards, the pink woman sighed.

"It seems we've been thrown back in time, to somewhere around the Mushroom War, I think."

At these words, Marceline instantly widened her eyes and leaned forward, quickly darting her head in all directions to observe the world around them. She was shocked to be brought back to the painful memories that once had been buried. Here she was, faced again with the destructive fall of humanity. The vampire lowered her head sadly to the ground, trying to keep back all the visions of suffering.

Bubblegum suddenly gave her friend a hug, trying her best to comfort the sorrowful young woman. Marcy returned her embrace, thanking the monarch for the support. They stayed like that for a few minutes until finally moving back and giving hopeful smiles to each other.

"Come on, we should get out of here."

PB reached for her insignia, as did the Vampire Queen. Both were equally confused when all they received were a few sparks form the runes. Disbelieving, Marceline tried several more times, unleashing a shower of sparks in the process as her anger began to build up.

"Come on you stupid thing!"

Before she could continue, Peebles grabbed the grey skinned hand and looked her friend in the eyes.

"Marcy, it's no use. The portal must have scrambled their homing signals."

The vampire just sat there, stunned that their only way home was gone. She let her head fall back to the couch, groaning loudly.

"Great, now what?"

Bubblegum rubbed her chin, deep in thought. Unfortunately, it didn't look that good. There was no way to contact the Citadel, nor a way to create a portal to anywhere. They were limited to what they could find in the current time period and even so they both had little understanding of the era's technology; even Marcy had only been five when she was around this place.

"I…I don't know."

Marceline never thought she would hear those words from her friend, making it expected that she would start freaking out.

"What!? Are you saying it's over? No chance of getting home?"

PB sighed.

"Marceline calm down. There's always a way in the Multiverse. I think our previous experiences have proven that."

The vampire did as she was asked and eventually managed to take a deep breath.

"Alright. Fine. So what do we do?"

Peebles got to her feet and looked to both ends of the street. Neither direction looked that inviting but then they couldn't exactly be picky at this particular moment.

"Well, I say we start walking. How about you choose which direction."

Marcy got up and examined the two paths. Just like her friend, she didn't think much of either side. The vampire shrugged and floated toward one end.

"I guess this way, not really much of a difference."

Before the girl could get any further, her hand was suddenly grabbed and she was pulled to the ground. Turning to see what had happened, Marcy saw a stern PB.

"You can't just go around floating! Any people who see you will flip out!"

The raven haired girl rolled her eyes.

"Are you serious?"

Peeble's eyes narrowed.

"Heck yes I'm serious!"

Groaning, but not wanting to argue any further, Marcy allowed herself to set on the ground and pulled her hand away from the candy ruler.

"Fine. But what about you? You think it was normal for people to have gum hair and pink skin?"

The princess looked sadly at her physical appearance. She hated to admit it but the vampire had gotten her there. Before PB could think of something, there was shattering of glass. Caught off by the sound, the gummy lady yelped a bit until she saw Marceline had her fist through one of the few windows that were still intact. The princess glared at her companion.

"Marcy!"

The Vampire Queen rolled her eyes again as she reached into the display case and pulled out two hoodies.

"Yeah, yeah. I know it's wrong but whatever, we're kinda in a tough spot here."

The girl tossed one of the hoodies to Bubblegum who reluctantly put it on and tucked her hair into the back before putting the hood up to cover the majority of her head. Marcy did the same, re-hooking her bass to the outside of the clothing and adjusting the strap. After completing their makeshift cover, the two girls analyzed one another.

"Hm. I would say you could pass for a girl with ridiculously fair skin."

Marceline smirked, but PB was curious.

"Wait, why would you need one? From what you told be you've always been that pale."

The raven-haired girl pulled back her hood and gestured to her pointed ears.

"These ain't exactly natchy."

Bubblegum still wasn't convinced.

"You've had those too."

Marceline was starting to get frustrated by the questioning.

"Yeah, but that was when the world was basically deserted and there was no one to question it. The skin can pass off as human but my ears won't."

Finally, the candy monarch was satisfied with the explanation. That settled, the two ladies set off on foot down the road, hoping to find something that they could use to get back home.

The rest of the city was basically the same. With every block there was just more destruction and chaos, with tons of green military machines and civilian vehicles smashed into every which form and junk pile. Smoke was still billowing from many of the buildings and every so often, an explosion would be heard from a car whose gasoline had ignited.

As they went further along, PB and Marcy began to hear a strange noise. It sounded at first like repeated rattling, as if someone was pouring metal balls onto a steel roof. Thinking it worth investigating, the girls moved toward it. After a few minutes, the rattling was distinct enough that the two could hear breaks in the noise, which then resumed moments later. These breaks were so consistent and precise that Princess Bubblegum felt sure that they were not naturally made by anything, meaning that there had to be a person causing it.

With growing hope, the pair of ladies increased their speed at the noise, which had now spilt off into at least a dozen identical ones. They produced the same sounds but at different intervals. With the source only another block or so away, Marceline suddenly stopped, making PB turn around and gaze questioningly at her friend.

"What's wrong Marcy?"

The vampire appeared to be studying the rattling with her enhanced ears, carefully listening for a minute. Soon enough, she placed her hand to her mouth with a short gasp. Bubblegum came closer and gave a concerned stare.

"Marceline, are you ok?"

The immortal queen looked nervously into the gummy monarch's eyes.

"Bonnie…those noises, they come from firearms."

The princess was confused.

"What is that exactly?"

The vampire remembered just then that her counterpart had no experience with many of the objects from her childhood.

"It's a weapon that shoots small pieces of metal. But they're extremely dangerous, more so than most of the weapons found in Ooo."

PB was skeptical.

"Marceline, metal might hurt quite a lot if shot but I doubt it could be that bad."

The vampire narrowed her eyes.

"At several thousand feet per second?"

Bubblegum instantly lost her questionable tone and calculated the speeds that her friend had just mentioned.

"Ach, mein Glöb! That would tear through most things as if they were toilet paper!"

Marcy nodded then looked back toward the sounds. Whoever was over there, they were still firing off their guns. What the vampire thought was strange was the lack of screaming that she knew followed when someone went through the pain of being hit by a bullet. The beings wielding the weapons couldn't possibly be bad enough shots to miss every single shot, could they?

"Come on; let's see what's happening."

The two ladies resumed their trek closer to the gunfire, now with the added worry that they were walking straight into a nasty battle. However, Marcy still had a suspicion as to what exactly was being shot at. The closer they got to the source, the more clearly the noises from the event entered her ears. She could hear flesh being impacted by the metal slugs, but still no yelling or screaming.

The girls made it to a partially collapsed building and ran up the side of its crumbled half, making it to the second floor of a small office building. Running past the broken cubicles, the pair slid against the wall that faced the origin point of the gunfire. Carefully, they peeked around the edge and through the empty space where the windows used to be. What they saw shocked them.

A dozen or so humans were cornered at the top of a pile of crushed cars, holding back wave after wave of what appeared to be additional humans. After a moment however, it was seen that these unarmed beings had rotting flesh and excessively torn and deteriorated clothing. Their movements were mindless, their only action being to climb relentlessly up the stack of vehicles and try to tear the shooters apart.

The weapon wielding group had military uniforms on, yet most of their clothing varied in color, applications, and apparent rank. Despite the differences, they all worked as a single unit to hold back the hordes of zombies that were making their way towards them. For the moment, they were holding the line.

Marceline was astounded.

"What! I don't remember the bomb creating zombies, only mutants."

Princess Bubblegum looked carefully at the undead. They indeed appeared to be simple reanimated corpses, but if not from the devastating mushroom bomb then what had created them? Before she could ponder further, Marcy had stood up and took out her ax bass. Peebles widened her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

The vampire tapped the blade on her hand and glared at the zombies outside.

"I'm not letting those people die. Let's go."

PB grabbed her companion's arm.

"Marcy, we can't interfere with the timeline. Who knows what'll happen!"

The pale skinned girl took her arm back and stared frustratingly at the princess.

"I don't care Bonnie. It was hell for the surviving humans and I'm not gonna waste this chance to help them out. Now are you coming or not?"

The candy monarch thought for a moment then finally nodded, realizing it was the right thing to do. She reached into her belt and brought out her extendable staff. Marceline raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to fight with a stick? What about your cannon thing?"

Bubblegum shook her head.

"I forgot about it while trying to find you. Besides, humans didn't have that kind of technology. It would cause too much suspicion if I ran around shooting photon blasts everywhere."

Marcy groaned again.

"I swear, you and your timeline preservation."

The pink woman pushed aside the comment and joined her friend in ducking through the window screen, plummeting to the top of the delivery truck that was 'parked' underneath on the ground floor. From there, they hopped to the side facing away from the fighting and gave each other one last nod before sprinting around the corner and racing toward the hill of busted cars.

One of the humans, a male, at the top of the mound spotted two figures dashing straight for the zombies below. His eyes widened as he raised up his arm.

"Hold fire! We've got civilians!"

The rest of the group ceased their shooting and gazed in shock at the approaching beings. A female soldier shook her head.

"What the hell do they think they're doing?"

Down below, PB and Marcy had reached the horde, which noticed the two non-undead and turned their attention to the closing women. Marceline instantly began cleaving several of the rotting enemies with her bass, easily beating back several rounds of vile corpses. Peebles resorted to a more tactical attack, using her agility to dodge the grabbing hands of the zombies while making careful aim for their heads with her staff.

After a few minutes, the two ladies had developed a contest, seeing who could take down the most foes. Their pace increased, hammering down wave upon wave of the horde. Eventually, their numbers seemed to dissipate gradually, hinting that the two were close to winning the fight. From a few hundred feet away however, a fresh (so to speak) mob of rotting figures was incoming, ready to provide the additional mass to finally devour the two highly skilled Ooocians.

From atop the pile of cars, the soldiers had been frozen in astonishment at how swiftly the girls were eliminating the threat. The commander managed to snap out of his trance first and noticed the imminent reinforcements of undead closing in on the fight. He motioned for his fellow troops to move down the mound and take up positions.

"Come on; let's give them some cover!"

The soldiers kneeled down and steadied their weapons, then resumed their hail-fire on the common enemy they faced. The horde was definitely slowed by the incoming bullets, as their fallen numbers began to form a barricade of rotting flesh.

Back on the ground, PB and Marcy noticed the continuing rattle of the firearms and took a moment to look in the direction of the soldiers. They found the humans shooting at an additional horde of the damned and grinned.

"I'll admit, we didn't see that coming, remind me to thank those guys when we're done here."

Peebles nodded.

"Same for me."

The pair returned to their task of eliminating the remaining zombies, who stood no chance against the now combined efforts of the two ladies. It was only natural; they had nearly two millenniums of experience between them. As the number of undead diminished to a mere few, they finished them off by forcibly collapsing a nearby wall, crushing the corpses beneath the enormous weight.

Panting, the companions smiled at each other.

"So, who do you think won?"

Marcy scoffed.

"Please princess, you honestly believe your uptight and royal etiquette could have done better than my wild and ruthless movements?"

The pink lady smirked.

"Maybe not, but who's better at math? Did you even keep track of your score?"

The two burst into friendly laughter, admiring how well they got along despite their completely opposite personalities. Before the amusement could go on much further though, the two noticed that the sounds of gunfire had stopped. Turning around, they found that the rest of the zombies had been annihilated by the human soldiers.

Speaking of which, the heavily armed combatants were now descending the hill of vehicles, rapidly approaching the girls. Marceline nudged her friend in the ribs and whispered.

"Psst, Bonnie, your crown."

The princess understood and quickly snatched her royal headwear off and hid it in one of the pockets of her hoodie. At least now it didn't look like PB's head was way too tall for her body. The commander of the soldiers halted his movement a few yards away from the duo and began studying them carefully while his team stopped a few feet behind him. Peebles and Marceline waited nervously for the guy to say something. Eventually, the soldier walked up to them and gave a reserved expression.

"What are you two doing out here? Are you on your own?"

PB decided to take the initiative and stepped forward.

"Um, yes. My friend and I have been alone together for as long as we can remember. We tend to just wander and look for anything we need to survive."

The female soldier next to the commander smirked.

"I guess that explains why you two can handle yourselves in a fight. Pretty strange choice of weaponry though."

The group of armed individuals gazed at Marcy's ax bass and the retractable staff PB still held in her hand. The two girls replaced their weapons back on their person and Marceline shrugged.

"Eh, you take what works."

Several of the soldiers snickered. The commander raised his hand to silence them.

"What are your names?"

PB cleared her throat.

"I'm Bonnibel."

The vampire stepped forward.

"And I'm Marceline."

The commander still had a hint of suspicion in his eyes that had remained since he approached the girls.

"Alright, well, as long as you've run into us, how about you join us back to base? We could use some more survivors to boost morale, if it's no trouble."

The two women looked to one another, mentally agreeing that coming upon an organized group of humans was a great amount of luck. Hopefully, there would be a scientist or person of interest that knew something about trans-dimensional theory. It was doubtful, but it was better than nothing.

"Sure, we'll come along."

The leader nodded and gestured for the two to follow as the group began marching down the destroyed street. They joined in the tightly bound platoon and slowly made their way past various obstacles in the way, including bomb pits, wrecked cars, and a few fallen street lights. A few blocks down, the assembled beings came across a massive crater, which nearly took up the entire street. It was only by climbing up a stair-step of pickup trucks that they were able to pass the scar upon the earth.

While crossing the narrow gap to pass, Marceline suddenly gasped while gazing town the crater. Bubblegum remained behind with a concerned look.

"What is it Marcy?"

The vampire slowly pointed to the crater, her eyes filled with shock.

"I don't think time is the only thing that's changed."

Confused, PB followed her friend's indicated direction, only to freeze in place at what she saw far below in the deep depths of the pit occupying the street.

There, laying in the middle of a ruined subway station several stories below ground level, was an enormous bomb, half buried in debris from its apparent impact to the earth from a height of around a thousand feet. The ominous explosive was completely intact, with no sign of damage or detonation. Slowly, PB and Marcy recovered from their stunned state, not taking their eyes off the weapon of mass destruction as they commented on the sight.

"We're…in a different time period **in **a different dimension."

Marceline knew her friend's words to be true, for no other object could've fit the profile of the infamous mushroom bomb. Eventually, the two women broke their stare on the explosive and resumed their trek to the base, jogging a bit to catch up to the soldiers. The rest of the way, there was only silence between the two ladies as they contemplated the possible effects of the timeline that was greatly altered from their own.

* * *

A towering gate loomed over the group, encompassing an enormous area that likely covered several square blocks of the city. Atop the massive walls of the compound, a pair of high output turrets were visible, setting their sights upon the soldiers and two outsiders as they stopped in front of the gates. The commander stepped forward and waited. A moment later, a voice came over loudspeaker.

"Identify yourselves."

The leader cleared his throat and vigilantly stood while replying to the voice.

"Commander Weiss of the 3rd scout platoon, requesting permission to enter the base along with two outsiders."

There was a pause as everyone awaited the response.

"Understood, a medic will be out to verify your blood."

The loudspeaker crackled out and the group relaxed, waiting for the rendezvous. Meanwhile, PB walked over to the commander.

"Um, excuse me but, what did he mean about blood?"

Weiss looked over to the girl.

"It's to make sure we aren't infected with whatever is creating the zombies. Security measure."

Bubblegum understood but looked a bit nervous as she strolled back over to Marceline. The vampire heard the exchange but didn't quite understand the cause of her friend's uneasiness.

"What's wrong?"

The gummy lady gazed at her friend, biting her lower lip.

"I just hope that…our non-human DNA won't be revealed."

The vampire understood at this point and grew a face to match her companion's. As they turned to watch the gate, the ground began to shake while the colossal barrier began to crack open, revealing a tiny entrance through which a single human made his way through. Once the man had reached the soldiers and two girls, he quickly opened up a small case and removed a peculiar device from it.

The commander walked over and held out his hand, which the medic took hold of and placed the device against. The pointed tip that made contact with the skin made a brief noise before the newcomer removed it and checked the readings on its small screen. He gave a nod and motioned for the leader to proceed through the gate. The next member of the platoon stepped up and received the same procedure.

Eventually, only the two Ooocians were left. PB swallowed hard and shakily approached the medic. He asked for the lady's hand, which she gave and watched as the man brought the device to her skin. Several beads of sweat were running down the princess's face as she awaited the inevitable judgment.

Before she knew it, the medic retracted his tool and peered at the results. Amazingly, he smiled and motioned for the girl to proceed into the compound. Relief flooded into her as she nearly fainted from the pressure she was feeling. However, that relief suddenly vanished when she remembered that Marcy still had to have her blood tested, and she wasn't quite sure if the vampire even had any blood.

Walking past the man, Peebles remained nearby to observe the results of her companion's verification, ever ready to make a run for it should the test fail. Marceline adamantly walked up and held up her hand. The human placed his device against the pale skin and activated the scan. The vampire just stared at PB, who was only a few feet away and nervously holding her hands together at her chest.

After what seemed like an hour of agonizing waiting, the medic removed his tool and read the results. He frowned, causing Marcy to grow stiff, which PB noticed and followed suit. Both stood without so much as breathing while the medic studied what was on his screen. Briefly, the vampire thought of running away at that moment, however, she could never just leave without knowing if Bonnie could make it past the menacing turrets that were still high up on the wall, eying them with their rounds fully loaded.

The human looked to Marceline and held up his arm.

"Would you mind, young lady, if I could try that again?"

Still on the brink of cracking under pressure, the vampire held her hand up and allowed the medic to run his test again. Being smart, she gave him the hand he had not scanned earlier, as he would've noticed that the small puncture in her skin had instantly healed. With a great deal of tension in the air, the man released the girl's hand and reread the screen.

Finally, Marceline got the opportunity to thank Glob when the medic gave a grin and stepped aside.

"Sorry about that miss, slight error in the processing."

The Vampire Queen managed to give a return smile and rushed to join Peebles. Surprisingly, she immediately embraced the princess. PB was stunned for a few seconds as Marcy whispered into her ear.

"I was…really scared. For the first time in well…a long time."

The pink lady smiled warmly and placed her arms comfortingly around her beloved friend.

"It's alright Marcy; you know I'll always be there for you. We've known each other too long to ever be split apart."

The raven haired girl pulled back and revealed that several tears had fallen from her eyes. She bravely put on a small smile.

"Thank you Bonnie. I've…never had a friend like you since Simon. It means a lot."

The candy ruler wiped away the drops from her companion's face and nudged her head toward the gates.

"Come on, let's go see what we can find."

Marceline nodded and joined her in approaching the entrance. The medic walked a bit further behind them. PB casually slowed her pace and allowed the man to come up alongside her. She gave a friendly expression and looked over at him.

"Hey if you don't mind, could you tell me a little about that scanner? I'm somewhat of a scientist."

The human grinned, as if delighted to share the information.

"Sure. It's really not that complicated. It focuses solely on a single function: to scan the blood for traces of any abnormal readings. We haven't exactly found any actual infection yet but the broad range of traits we've set the thing to pick up on will definitely find anything that's out of place.

PB was a little confused as to why the device had not detected the obvious non-human nature of their bodily fluids.

"Does it sample the actual DNA?"

The medic chuckled a bit.

"Nope. That's unnecessary. Think of it this way, we're checking the bottom of a ship for any algae to scrap off, but not looking inside the actual hull. Is that a good analogy?"

Peebles giggled a little and nodded.

"Yes, that explains it quite well, thank you."

The human smiled.

"No problem. Also, it's rare to find someone who's had technical experience. We could really use any added scientific support if you're willing to stay at the base."

Bubblegum stared ahead at the approaching gate, pondering the situation she and Marcy were in.

"Perhaps."

* * *

The two outsiders caught up with the platoon they had run into as the massive gates closed behind them. The commander walked up to them and gave an affirming nod.

"Welcome to New Babylon, one of the growing compounds across the globe that's beginning to rebuild humanity."

PB and Marcy were stunned by the sheer scale of the settlement. What buildings that were part of the original city had been repaired, now thriving with command centers, living quarters, and other essential structures for society. The leader gestured to a nearby gas station across the street, which had been converted to a command center.

"I suggest you head over to speak with Colonel Fierro, she's in charge of the whole base."

The two ladies nodded and allowed themselves to be escorted by the woman that was always by the commander's side. As they walked, the soldier uncertainly scrunched her nose then looked at PB.

"You chew a lot of gum miss? It practically smells like you're made of it, hahaha!"

The candy monarch and vampire shared in the woman's laughter, albeit a lot more nervously and with a hint of irony. As they reached the entrance to the post, their escort shook both their hands and gave a smile.

"I'm Lieutenant Ashton by the way, if you ever need a tour, just ask."

The girl's nodded with a return smile and watched as the soldier walked away to rejoin her squad. Swinging back toward the doorway, PB and Marcy let out a breath and stepped through. Immediately, they were met by a pair of sentinels guarding the inner confines of the building. However, they gladly stood aside to allow the two women to pass and approach the main office, which was behind a door marked with a large silver star.

Opening it revealed a room that was wallpapered with various charts, troop movements, and blueprints of some kind. The visitors didn't have a clue what the color of the actual wall was. Along with that, there were piles of paperwork and filing cabinets tucked into whatever space was available. The only place that was clear enough to see a few feet radius of was the desk, located in the back.

At the metal table sat a middle-aged woman with fairly tanned skin, suggesting an origin of somewhere along the equator. Her features seemed quite well rounded, with a determined and tough military expression that let everyone know she was the boss. As the two ladies proceeded closer to the back, the colonel looked up from her work and laid the pen she was holding on the desk, intertwining her fingers afterward while PB and Marcy quietly sat in a pair of chairs in front of the table.

The wise leader gazed back and forth between the two for a few minutes before finally speaking. Her voice was strong even with the average volume. One could only imagine how many soldiers could be ordered in line by the full extent of it.

"As a courtesy I would appreciate it if you lowered your hoods."

It felt more like an order. The two outsiders reluctantly moved to do as the colonel had asked and took hold of the fabric concealing their heads. Marceline made careful sure that her ears were hidden underneath her elegant black hair. Bubblegum meanwhile, hoped her own locks wouldn't attract too much attention.

Colonel Fierro stared back and forth again, examining the full features of her guests. At last, she seemed to relax a bit and picked up the form she had been filling out, casually beginning a conversation as she read out what was on it in her head.

"Those are some bright highlights you've got there miss."

PB bit her lip nervously but managed to reply.

"Yeah, just my fad."

Fierro placed the paperwork down and looked back to the ladies.

"So, who might you two be?"

The Vampire Queen decided to take this one.

"I'm Marceline and this is my best friend Bonnibel. We're travelers, for the most part."

Peebles secretly smiled at the comment of _best _friend. The colonel seemed a bit distraught.

"Is there something a little less complicated I can call you?"

PB spoke up.

"We usually use Marcy and Bonnie, if that works ma'am."

Fierro made an affirmative sound while slowly nodding.

"Well, from what I heard over the radio, you've got quite some skill at handling zombie hordes. And, some scientific background?"

She eyed Bubblegum, who nervously nodded.

"Yes, I've been known to tinker in the subject."

The colonel sat back in her chair, not taking her eyes off the lady.

"If you're wanting to remain at New Babylon we could sure use your knowledge to help humanity further back on its feet."

Marceline leaned a bit forward in her seat.

"If I may ask ma'am, what about the war?"

Fierro glanced at the vampire as if she were a complete stranger.

"Apparently you two have been out of the loop for a while. The war is over. It has been ever since that bomb you surly passed on the way here turned out to be a dud."

The Ooocians were astonished. The colonel just sighed.

"I swear, men are such idiots sometimes. It takes the failure of certain death for them to realize self-destruction is not the best option. Luckily, the world collectively agreed to a ceasefire. Now here we are, slowly rebuilding."

Bubblegum processed the information, as did Marceline. They were both thinking the same thing: here, humanity was given a second chance. And although this meant that Ooo would likely never exist, it was still a blessing to save an entire race from extinction.

_Finn should've seen this universe, _the candy ruler thought to herself.

Colonel Fierro stood up, motioning for the others to do the same.

"Well, if that's all, then I'm sure Lieutenant Ashton is eager to show you two around. Feel free to integrate if you'd like or let us know if you'd like to leave. Although I wouldn't recommend that with the zombies running around."

PB suddenly remembered a thought she had earlier.

"Excuse me colonel, but would you happen to have a sample of infected flesh?"

Delightfully, Fierro nodded.

"Indeed. It's over in the labs if you want to take a shot at uncovering the cause of the outbreak."

Peebles thanked the woman and turned to leave, Marcy joining in behind her. While the ladies exited the backroom, the vampire whispered to her companion.

"What are you thinking with the undead?"

The candy monarch turned to her friend, a determined expression upon her face.

"I'm thinking…that those zombies we fought back in the streets were very familiar in make. I'm gonna get to the bottom if this. It may be a lead to getting back home."

Equipped with a plan of action, the pair made their way back outside, ready to find the answer to returning to their beloved Ooo.

* * *

**_This has been the second time I've run into writer's block so I hope the chapter turned out well._**

**_Hope you enjoyed and thank you for any comments/reviews!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 32: Ghost Towns


	32. Chapter 32: Ghost Towns

Chapter 32: Ghost Towns

An irritating poking feeling repeatedly hit Jake in the forehead, slowly stirring him from unconsciousness. Eventually, the magical dog managed to pry open one huge eye and began focusing on whatever was in front of him. Through it all, a voice kept breaking the otherwise graceful silence.

"Jake, are you dead? Jake, Jake, JAKE!"

With a groan, the yellow canine blinked a few times and readjusted both eyes to see what was going on. After a minute, the figure of Ice King appeared before him, still poking him in the temple with a pale blue finger. Jake found the sense to get irritated.

"Simon, cut it out! I'm awake already!"

Ice King retracted his arm and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Heh. Sorry, I wanted to make sure before I dug a hole for you."

The dog shot his wizard companion a glare. The old man grinned and held up his hands.

"Just kidding bro."

Jake scoffed.

"Yeah…sure."

Getting up, the magical dog quickly made sure nothing was broken and began looking around. All he could see were trees, encompassing the whole area. He frowned.

"Dang, did that portal throw us into the forest or something?"

IK shrugged.

"Beats me. I didn't go anywhere to look around since you were knocked out."

Jake smiled a bit, touched that the crazy wizard still had the compassion from earlier. He looked up into the canopy of tree leaves.

"I'm gonna take a look around."

With that, the canine stretched his legs and raised himself into the flurry of green, closing his eyes to prevent poking one out. Once his head made it past the trees, he reopened his sight and lifted his hand to his temple, blocking our any extra sunlight to look around with greater clarity. However, this was unnecessary, as the entire sky seemed to be engulfed by an impenetrable fog.

Frustrated, Jake shouted down to his friend.

"Hey Ice King! Get up here dude!"

After a couple seconds, the ice wizard burst through the treetops and hovered in the air next to the magical dog. His eyes widened.

"Holy cow! This is some thick soup!"

Jake agreed and looked around. There was no possible way to know which direction they were going. Grunting, he turned to face Simon.

"Aw forget it, let's just get to the Citadel, we can figure out where the tree house is from there."

The two reached over and touched their insignias. Sadly, the only reaction was a shot of sparks. Confused, they tried it again. The same result. Jake growled.

"Ugh! Stupid portal must have junked up our runes. Looks like we're doing this the hard way."

IK sighed.

"Man, that'll take forever."

Jake rubbed his chin in thought. His eyes drifted to Simon, who was casually juggling some ice cubes in his hands, clearly bored. Suddenly, the dog had an epiphany.

"Ice King! You once said you can sense when someone's messing with your ice, right?"

The old man vaporized his frosty cubes and stared with a questioning look at his friend.

"Yeah, why?"

Jake's enthusiasm spiked.

"We always got our ice from the edge of your kingdom. You can just track any out of place stuff back to the tree fort."

The wizard's brow heightened, now understanding the idea.

"Oooh, I get it. That's brilliant!"

Jake gave a triumphant pose.

"Well yeah, I didn't get this awesome focus from the Citadel for nothing."

Laughing a bit, IK then took a breather and closed his eyes, reaching out with his powers to find the displaced snow that rested within the tree's freezer. After a moment, the old man opened his gaze again and turned to stare in a certain spot.

"This way, come on."

He motioned for Jake to stomp after him as the wizard flew toward the indicated direction. The two cleared the forest after a few minutes, now in a large clearing that was fairly familiar. The grasslands were as green as ever, although this was barely detectable beneath the fog. As the duo neared closer and closer to the spot where Finn's house rested, their anxiousness grew. They hoped that their time unconscious hadn't been too long, otherwise their friends could be in serious trouble.

Finally, the silhouette of the massive willow came into view. After a few more seconds of nearing the structure, Jake grew a bit suspicious. The outline of the tree seemed completely normal, no damage or anything. The dog reached out a stretchy hand and stopped Ice King from going any further.

"Hold up there Simon, there's something not right here."

The wizard looked skeptically at the dog.

"What do you mean? The house is right there."

He motioned to the wooden home, which remained absolutely quiet.

"Don't you think it's odd that there's no fighting going on? Or that the soil is perfectly solid, no holes where undead losers climb out of?"

Ice King pondered the thoughts as he scanned the area. The yellow canine was right.

"Huh. Yeah, it is weird. I mean, we couldn't have been out **that **long."

The pair slowly continued toward the tree, prepared for anything with their powers armed and ready. At long last, the willow's full expanse materialized through the fog, revealing that the wood had not even a scratch upon it. The sight made Jake slap his face.

"Aw Glob damn it, alternate universe."

The dog shrank back to his normal size as IK landed beside him. They both walked up to the door and banged on it firmly.

"Finn! You in, bro?"

He realized it may not be that smart to attract attention, after all, what if a different Jake answered the door? However, no response whatsoever came back. Jake knocked again, but still the interior remained silent. Deciding that he had somewhat of a right to do so, the dog grew his fist to a large size and bashed the door in, breaking it into pieces.

Stepping into the exposed entrance, Jake and Ice King began looking around. There appeared to be nothing different in the house compared to their own universe, with piles of gold and other treasures lying all over. Proceeding through, the two made their way to the living room. It too was the same. Systematically, they searched the whole house, only to find that it was utterly the same.

Jake thought hard as he and IK stopped their search in the attic.

"Hm, maybe this isn't a different universe. Maybe…we were thrown through time instead."

The ice wizard walked over and looked outside into the fog, which was still consuming the land. He then turned back to Jake.

"We could check all our friends' places. Someone's got to be around here somewhere."

The canine agreed and walked out of the attic, followed by the Ice King. Jake pulled out a strange device on the way out. He held it up and it displayed a holographic map.

"At least with this thing we can figure out the positions of every other area. I don't want to have to return to the tree house once we explore each other place."

IK nodded and the two began their journey.

"Let's go to the Fire Kingdom first, if we find Flame Princess then the fog will be less of an obstacle."

With a goal in mind, the duo set off in the direction of the volcanic region that was the Fire Kingdom. It took about half an hour with the confusing fog but eventually the dark mountain range of the land cut through the dense mist. Jake shrank down and took Simon's hand, relying on the old man to gain entrance into the kingdom since he would easily burn up.

Upon charging through, they were surprised to find that the usual ash clouds that shrouded the fiery lands were gone, replaced by the eerie fog. Growing concerned, the two flew down further until the fire palace came into view. The lava lake surrounding the castle appeared quite cooled, glowing a dim red as if ready to harden.

Acting on a hunch, Jake asked IK to let him down on the ground. Following the request, the ice wizard let off the dog at the entrance to the palace. The normally frying rock was cool enough to walk on. The rune on the door glowed slightly and the doors parted, revealing a darkened corridor that led to the throne room. All the torches were out, not a single ember glowed within their holders.

The duo looked around, hoping to find some evidence of an inhabitant. Jake stretched his hand into a megaphone and shouted through it.

"Hey! Flame Princess! Ferrum! Cinnamon Bun! You guys here!?"

After a minute of waiting, it was clear that no one was in the room. Jake and Ice King split up, each taking a different side of the palace to search. After an hour or so of painstaking attempts, they gave up and met back in the throne room. Not willing to give up just yet, the pair returned outside and went into town.

Jake called out dozens more times with his megaphone, desperately trying to find someone. Sadly, no answers came. The Fire Kingdom was deserted. With great worry in their minds, the two friends turned to leave, realizing there was nothing there for them.

Before Jake's eyes turned to the exit of the kingdom, his large pupils caught a dark object slip past along the ground. He swiftly twisted himself back around and scanned the ground intently.

"Hello! Anyone out there? Hello?"

It was no use; there was only the void of silence. Solemnly, the dog rejoined Ice King as the wizard made his way toward a determined direction. Jake caught up a moment later.

"Where to now?"

IK scratched his beard.

"I think we should check the Ice Kingdom. We can't rule out alternate universe just yet. If it is then the other me might be able to help."

At first Jake was hesitant, but figured that there wasn't much he could go against, they had to find at least one person in the mist-ridden lands. The magical dog stretched out his legs and set off for the fire/snow border between the two kingdoms, IK close above.

Once the contradicting elements met, the duo brushed past them and made their way towards the ice castle, which stood proudly as the highest peak in the kingdom. Luckily, Ice King knew exactly where it was, as Jake wasn't familiar enough to search through the foggy ranges of frosted mountains to see anything.

As the castle came into view, both companions made their way to the top, where the triangular window offered one of the few entrances. Inside, like the tree house and Fire Kingdom, there was nothing out of the ordinary, save for the absence of any life. In addition to the expected lack of an Ice King, there were also no penguins anywhere in the various rooms of the frozen castle.

Disappointed, the two left the icy home and decided to head for Marceline's house. The vampire lady surly would have an explanation for the strand disappearances, if she herself wasn't one of them. Jake however, was confident that nothing could possibly have messed with the raven haired girl and gotten away with it. There would almost definitely be evidence of any struggle or kidnapping.

Reaching the outskirts of the grasslands, Jake and Simon lowered themselves down to the cave entrance that hid the Vampire Queen's quaint little house. Walking up to the front door, they gave it a knock and waited. When no one answered, Jake proceeded to bust down the door and ran inside.

"Marceline! No messing around, are you in here?"

Silence filled the dark room. A quick check by Ice King confirmed that not a single living (or immortal) thing was in the house. Once again despaired, the duo slowly walked back out the door.

Before all light left the living room however, Jake saw another dark shape slither across the carpet. He swung his head around to look again, but there was nothing. The magical dog caught up to Simon and the two left the cave, heading towards the Candy Kingdom. After about an hour of flying through the ominous mist, they found the still bright outline of the sweet castle.

As the duo passed over the sturdy walls of the kingdom, Jake shot a grave look at the vacant spots along the perimeter. The Gumball Guardians were nowhere to be seen.

The streets of the kingdom were deserted no less than that of the other lands, with various litter flying through the air and being dragged across the road. Strangely enough, there was no sign of panic, as normal candy people would at the first sight of danger or peril. This only made the void atmosphere more chilling. Even Ice King was shaking as he and Jake wandered towards the castle.

This time, the magical dog could swear he saw a humanoid shade scramble across the ground. He stopped.

"What's the matter Jake?"

IK's voice revealed his fear. The canine motioned for the wizard to be silent as his wide eyes continued to sweep the area. The fog's ever persistent shroud prevented a good deal of observation, but Jake's dog senses were far too great to be foiled by a mere lack of sight. As another shadow sneaked by, he grew his fist to huge proportions and smashed the fountain behind which the dark image had slinked.

After the dust had settled, Jake found that there was nothing there. Ice King gave his companion a concerned expression.

"You sure you're ok man? You seem a bit…paranoid."

Jake sighed, thinking maybe Simon was right.

"I guess I'm just seeing things."

Giving up on the mysterious shade hunt, the two resumed their approach to the castle, which didn't have the slightest damage upon its surface. As they ascended the stairs, a light wind picked up, sending a fairly large chill up both of the guys' backs. While Jake shoved the doors open with his giant mitts, Ice King suddenly heard something whisper in the gust.

_Simon…_

He turned abruptly and looked around with fright. There was nothing there. The old man's companion gave the wizard a questioning look.

"What is it man?"

IK shook it off and gazed back to his friend with a nervous grin.

"Oh nothing, just hearing things."

Jake shrugged and motioned for the man to join him into the grand hall. Inside, the room was completely empty, no decorations, no signs of activity, no candy people. Unnerved a bit, the pair made their way to the other side and entered through the doorway to find another area to search.

A sweep of the first floor revealed nothing new, the same emptiness that engulfed the rest of Ooo. Once again, there were no disturbances to any furniture or décor, it was as if everyone simply walked out of the palace and left somewhere without another act. When the pair reached a staircase, Jake turned to the ice wizard.

"Listen Simon, I want to go check on me and Lady's place. I'm getting really worried about this. Can you search the rest of the castle while I'm over there?"

Ice King's shuddering increased as the request reached his ears. His face was in obvious terror.

"Y-you mean l-look through all th-these rooms…alone?"

The magical nodded.

"Yeah. The barn isn't too far from here so I'll only be gone for like an hour, tops."

The old man cringed a bit more.

"But, but, but, what if there's…something in here?"

Jake raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, that's kinda what we're hoping for. What's the problem?"

IK gulped.

"What if it's something…not good to find?"

The canine scoffed, now understanding.

"Come on man, you can't be scared, you've got mad ice powers, just freeze anything that messes with you."

The dog's argument was plausible but didn't exactly help the old man feel any better. Jake sighed and shook his head.

"Look dude, just man up, uh…princess's dig a brave guy. Do it for the princesses."

He gave a supportive smile and thumbs up. Seemingly affected by the pep, Ice King put on his own small grin and finally nodded.

"Ok. But you'd better hurry back!"

Jake placed a hand to his chest.

"Tots bro, homies help homies."

With that, the yellow dog stretched himself through a nearby window, bashing the mosaic glass out as he went. In a second, IK was on his own. The wizard curled his fists and took a deep breath.

"Ok man, come on, you can do this. For the ladies, for the ladies."

Ice King began walked up the stairs, chanting his mantra repeatedly to keep up morale. It was greatly needed, as the castle only increased in eeriness as the floors progressed. Reaching the second landing, Simon slowly made his way through the corridors, looking into every room in search of anyone who had avoided the unexplained disappearances.

The floor was clear as far as he could tell. Satisfied with how well it went, IK gained some confidence and proceeded to the third floor. This area well along just as smoothly as the last, offering no inhabitants but also no scary monsters, much to the king's delight. As he marched back to the staircase, his mantra chant turned into a catchy song, augmented by the maraca shaking produced by his heart.

"For the la-dies, for the la-dies. Gonna beat up some lo-sers, punch out some mon-sters, gonna freeze those ghosts right in their tracks and get some hot babes…"

The singing distracted him completely from the ominous angles that the dark castle projected as he climbed higher into the building. The fourth floor held no surprises, just more corridor space for Ice King to begin adding a cha-cha dance to his little morale boosting exercise. He even started having fun peeking into the various rooms of the palace, every so often grabbing some candy that was lying around or simply tearing a piece off of the walls.

Floor five gave way to some of Princess Bubblegum's labs, which IK began exploring with great curiosity. Unfortunately, his actions with the dozens of chemicals did little more than cause the rooms to explode, forcing the wizard to stop his toying and return to the task of searching. As he brushed off some ash from his tunic, the king noticed a painting of PB hanging around.

He stopped briefly to admire it, gazing at the gummy monarch's beauty. Somewhere in his quite distorted mind, he knew the candy princess would never marry him, but then, another part ushered him to not give up. A third, and fairly unknown part, suggested looking for other options. IK considered this 'outsider's' input. The voice inquired the old man of what he looked for in a wife. His responses were the usual: loving, caring, romantic, interesting to talk to, etc.

Simon thought harder, wondering where this third had come from. Momentarily, he closed his eyes and focused, calming his mind. A light beating could be heard, but it was clearly not his own heart. This beat was no coming from his chest, rather from…the top of his head?"

Ice King opened his eyes and took off his crown, peering with intrigue at the crimson jewel at its center.

"Is it you, the spirit of the crown?"

There was no answer, but the light beating could be felt through the man's hands. He tilted his head, curious. Slowly, the wizard brought the golden headpiece to his forehead, closing his eyes once more. He could feel the beat against his skull now but ignored it to focus in on the object's true nature.

"If you're really in there, I really appreciate what you've done. You seem like a smart fellow."

Still no answer. IK held the crown back and stared at it a few moments more before placing it on his head and smiling gently.

"The strong silent type…I like that."

Chuckling quietly to himself, Ice King took one last look at the portrait of the candy ruler. He froze when he saw that the picture's eyes were peering right at him, rather than to the opposite wall like a minute ago. The man stumbled back in fright, eyes wide and shaking violently.

The picture continued its stare, refusing to drop the lock on the terrified wizard. Disbelieving, Simon rubbed his eyes and quickly looked back at the portrait. It was back to normal, looking vigilantly at the other wall. Ice King's heart rate slowed down a bit as he held a hand to his chest, now noticing his breathing had accelerated as well. After a brief analysis of the un-staring painting, the man sighed.

"Stupid Wizard Eyes."

Grunting, IK moved on, striking up his song and dance once again while he resumed the search. Eventually, he made it to the staircase once more and proceeded up to the sixth floor. While he climbed, he had a thought. Ever since Solara had calmed the chaotic spirit of the crown, he hadn't seen any of the crazy things that usually floated around due to his vision of different realms within Ooo.

This information made the king gulp again. What was the deal with the moving eyes then? Was it just his normal imagination? Still shaken, IK reached the next floor and let out a breath.

"Don't go nuts man, well…more nuts."

Rekindling his mantra, the ice wizard danced down the corridor, slowly gaining his spirit back. While Ice King was busy being his jolly self, a sudden gust blew open every single window on the floor, startling him and causing him to take cover on the candy marble ground.

As he was occupied with shivering in fear, the mysterious fog from outside seeped in through the openings that were now present. Progressively, the halls became more and more clogged by the ominous mist, creating the same lack of vision as the deserted lands from before. Simon struggled to get up, unwilling to peek from behind his covered eyes.

Regardless, he began walking forward, one step at a time. Occasionally, he would move aside a finger to make sure he wouldn't trip on something, but immediately removed his sight afterwards. He proceeded like this until he was at the end of the hall, which forked off into two directions. The old man scratched his head, wondering which way to go.

_Simon…_

He yelped, smacking into the wall that ended the hall and looked rapidly from side to side. The fog prevented a reliable view but the voice had definitely come from one end of the corridors. The ice wizard thought hard, trying to find an answer to his fear. He remembered what Jake had said:

_You've got mad ice powers._

Ik gasped.

"Wait! I have mad ice powers!"

Simon raised his hands, emitting a blue hue from both of them. He then aimed his palms at the corridor on the left.

"Ice winds, blow!"

A gust was unleashed from his hands, quickly pushing away the fog in its path. Soon, the blast of icy air revealed the end of the hall, showing that nothing was there. Ice King turned to the center hall.

"Blow!"

Another current dissipated the mist before him, displaying an empty space with nothing unusual. He turned to the third, holding up his palms.

"Blow!"

The gust sent forth easily cut through the fog like the first two, erasing the ominous shroud that had hidden away the source of the voice. However, as the cold air reached the end of the hall, it showed IK that there was nothing there.

"Aw dingles."

Disappointed, the king sighed and looked to the ground. He leaned against the wall, thinking that fixing the crown didn't take away enough of his madness. He was interrupted a moment later.

_Simon…come…_

Ice King immediately gazed down the third hallway. His eyes grew wide. Cast against the wall at the back of the corridor, was the distinct silhouette of Princess Bubblegum. It remained motionless, as if its owner were examining the ice wizard who was now staring with disbelief at the sight.

"Pri-princess, is that really you?"

The voice didn't respond but the shadow lifted an arm, beckoning the old man to come closer. Then, it disappeared down the hall.

"Princess, wait!"

Ice King immediately took flight, zooming down the corridor as fast as he could. Upon reaching the end, he rebounded off the wall and shot down the next one. He could see the shadow slipping away around the next corner every time he caught up, never able to catch the owner of the slippery shade.

"Bubblegum come on, are you playing hard to get or something?"

No answer, just the continuing retreat of the shade. IK wouldn't give. He accelerated further, determined to hunt down the royal shadow. He flew around several more corners before suddenly, the shadow stopped moving. It waited patiently at the end of the next hall, motionless. Ice King stopped his flight and landed; now running awkwardly toward his target.

"Seriously dear, you don't have to be so hasty."

As the wizard neared the corner, the shade quietly disappeared behind the next turn. Unwilling to let the silhouette get away again, Simon sprinted faster and turned the corner sharply, immediately searching with his eyes to find the princess. The next corridor was filled with more fog.

"Ugh, will you ever quit?"

The old man commanded winds to blow the mist away, but astonishingly, it had no effect. He tried several more times, but still with no luck.

_I'm here…_

Ice King walked forward.

"Where?"

_Here…_

"I can't see with all this fog Bubblegum. Can't you give me a hint?"

_Behind you…_

"Oh ok, why didn't you just say s-AAAAAHHHH!"

A hideously grotesque shadow screamed right in Simon's face, its appearance consisting entirely of a PB shaped form that had been torn to shreds and filled in with oozing crimson material that augmented the demonic red eyes that were glaring right at him.

"AAAAHHHH!"

IK couldn't stop his terrified shouting, scared out of his wits and now crawling backwards on the ground, desperately trying to get away from the nightmarish shade, which was now approaching him, gazing intently at the man.

_Come closer Simon…I want to be your wife…we could be together…all you have to do is…_

The shadow's chest exploded into a disturbing mass of razor-tipped tentacles.

"LET ME RIP OUT YOUR ORGANS AND SUCK UP THE RESULTING BLOOD!"

Ice King lost his voice, eyes frozen to the insidious being before him. He fell flat on his back, unable to move any longer. The shadow came closer, reaching out with its sinister limbs to slice him to pieces. The poor wizard's heart was skipping multiple beats as the world around him faded out, only seeing the glimmering blades that were about to eviscerate his flesh, leaving only a dilapidated corpse.

Sound vanished from Simon's ears as he felt multiple stabs beginning to trigger his nerves. He wanted to scream, to beg for mercy, to call for help; not that Jake could hear him from all the way at his house.

The force of a thousand knives was the last thing the wizard felt as his consciousness disintegrated.

* * *

Jake made his way back to the candy castle, having found no one at Lady's barn, as expected. His hope had remained though, never faltering. Sadly, this final search had called it: there was no one, not a single inhabitant of Ooo had been seen, either in the kingdoms or across the lands between them. Depressed, the magical dog walked on his stilt like legs over the Candy Kingdom's wall and proceeded toward the empty palace.

Thinking Ice King would've been done by now, he climbed to the very top floor, expecting to see the wizard juggling ice again. However, Simon was nowhere to be seen. Jake sighed, wondering what could be keeping him. He stomped his foot for a few minutes with his arms crossed, growing impatient. Finally, he decided to go in and look for the crazy old man.

Upon entering through another window, Jake was careful to avoid the broken glass. He then casually strolled down the hall, looking carefully for any sign of his friend.

"Simon!"

There was no answer. He continued until he had checked the whole floor. After stretching down the staircase, he resumed the search on the next lowest floor. This one produced the same results. It wasn't until a few more levels down that he got anywhere.

Jake noticed multiple pieces of frost covering the corner walls of several hallways. He followed the path, hoping to find the ice wizard at its end. After several minutes of walking, the yellow canine made it to the final corner. On the other side was the mysterious fog, floating ominously in the halls as if waiting for prey.

Although a bit unnerved, the dog pushed on, calling out again.

"Simon! You here dude?"

He stopped when his acute senses picked up something wrong. He took a step back, eying the core of the mist with narrowed eyes. He waited, wondering what presence was in the mass of blurred air. Suddenly, footsteps were heard, ever so slowly making their way up the hall towards Jake. The dog felt the need to step back again, but resisted.

An hour seemed to pass before a figure could be seen emerging from the mist. Jake calmed down when he recognized the shape.

"Ice King! What the junk man, were you trying to lure me down here just to prank me? That's a bad move dude. When I give payback I give it hard yo."

No response came from the wizard. It wasn't until the old man's features came into view that Jake gasped in shock.

Simon's face was frozen in an expression of sheer terror, as if his skin were a molding of clay that someone had shaped. His movements were stiff, having no casual style to any of his steps. Jake was actually scared at this point, discretely pressing himself against a wall as the ice wizard paid no attention to him whatsoever and continued down the hall.

At first, the magical dog thought to try snapping him out of it, but instead made a plan to follow. While IK made his way down the corridors, Jake pursued him, at a generous distance.

After what felt like forever, Ice King's steady movements delivered the two of them to the bottom floor and back up the grand hall. Jake was extremely creeped out at this point, following an unresponsive and scare-faced Simon all the way through the castle's interior. The journey would certainly give him a nightmare or two.

As the two made it to the outside, IK carefully made his way down the stairs and crossed the courtyard in front of the palace. At long last, the old man stopped, swiftly halting all movement in the middle of a road intersection. Jake waited with growing anxiousness. The fog began to move away from Ice King's figure.

To utter astonishment, a blast of light erupted from the sky, engulfing Simon in a crimson flash. As Jake watched, the beam began to lift the man into the air, drawing him in toward the heavens.

"Oh no you don't!"

The magical dog threw his stretched out arms at the rising king of ice, wrapping them tightly around frozen being. Unfortunately, the beam suddenly intensified, greatly accelerating the speed of Ik's ascension and not giving Jake enough time to wrap his legs around an earthbound structure.

Both friends were pulled rapidly into the air. Jake shouted briefly before gathering his composure. He looked down, seeing that the fog had already enveloped the ground below, leaving little sense of actual movement in the soup. However, there was a sudden sensation of increasing heat. From what little the dog knew of science, the atmosphere was supposed to get colder the higher up you go, so what was going on? His question was answered a moment later, when he and Ice King were dragged through what felt like a mixture of hot and cold water.

The duo burst through the top of the fog clouds, immediately starting to get drenched by intense rainfall. Bewildered at the sudden weather change, he looked back down. The rain was being evaporated in milliseconds, converted to clouds, than pumped down to Ooo to form the ominous mist.

Looking up, Jake was even more astonished. A ginormous prismatic structure was levitating in the middle of the storm, not affected in the least by the flashing lightning and pounding droplets. This was also where the pair was being pulled to. The canine looked carefully at the object. It was entirely yellow, the same shade as…

_The Time Room…_

Jake's eyes went wide as he realized what was happening in the universe Astrum had thrown them into. The dark precursor had spared no expense in making sure Jake and his gang would never be seen again. For in pursuit of each duo, the siphoner had sent in a corrupted being to hunt down and eliminate them.

"Prismo…"

The golden dog looked hard down at the converting fog, piecing together the rest of the operation. The power of Flame King's Shard of Evil had allowed Prismo to superheat the lower atmosphere, gathering the liquid from the rainstorm and forming a permanent cover of fog, the perfect shroud from which to unleash his now dark reality warping powers on the populous one by one.

But what had he done to Simon? And what was the purpose of the wishmaster's involuntary abductions? Jake could only wonder with a fair bit of terror as he and the petrified Ice King were sucked into an opening on the prism's underside, blinded immediately by a purely red light.

* * *

**_First a break up, now the loss of the demon sword? Anyone else think the second half of season 5 has way too many depressing events? Anyway, with the latest episode this story is officially an AU, since the sword is pretty freaking important in the beginning (and later on). I really hope Finn gets it back somehow. _**

**_Hope you enjoyed and thank you for any comments/reviews!_**

**_next:_** Chapter 33: Martian Mayhem


	33. Chapter 33: Martian Mayhem

Chapter 33: Martian Mayhem

The moon was now hanging in the sky as Hot Daniel drove on, solemnly crossing the grasslands with its three passengers, who were in silence. The red truck's engine provided the relief from a completely awkward quietness, since no one was willing to utter a word, worried about the fate of their friends.

Ferrum noticed the vehicle's speed decreasing, even though he never took his foot off the accelerator. Confused, he pumped it a few times to try boosting the power but to no effect. Eventually, the fire elemental checked the various gauges on the dashboard, seeing that all of the arrows were sinking either down or to the left.

"Aw shoot, I think we're running out of fuel."

Solara gazed with concern at the road ahead.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to fly us the rest of the way."

Ferrum looked over at the Ancestral Flame. She was still quite exhausted from earlier. The man sighed as HD glided to a final halt. Gunter was asleep in the angelic woman's lap, still holding a saddened expression on her little face. The moon was nearly full, providing a fair bit of illumination that night, revealing the tired features of everyone in the truck.

"No Solara, you don't need to overstrain yourself. We can walk the rest of the way. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so."

The lady frowned, looking at the snoozing bird on her thighs. After giving the penguin a few strokes across her black fur, the precursor nodded and opened her door. Ferrum followed suit and unstiffened his legs. He had never driven before and the position gave him a rather unpleasant cramp that froze up his knees and ankles. Once he was back in gear, the alchemist looked to the truck with concern.

"What should we do about Hot Daniel?"

Solara walked over to the other side of the vehicle and stared at the robust pickup.

"I'm afraid we'll have to leave it out here. I know Finn wouldn't like it but we have a dire situation."

Ferrum was expecting that response but wished it hadn't come to that. The crimson truck was the only reason they were able to keep up with Astrum during the chase, otherwise only the people who could follow him were those who could fly. He reached out and patted the shiny metal, giving HD a grateful smile.

Sadly, the paint immediately started peeling back as the fire elemental had made contact with the material. The alchemist removed his hand quickly and nervously eyed the singed surface. Solara managed to chuckle a bit.

"I hope for your sake you fix that before Finn gets back. Human males tend to be very protective of their cars."

Ferrum grinned as he beamed at the precursor.

"Well, at least it's nice to see you smiling for once."

The woman held her expression for as long as she could before slipping back into a depressed mood. Gunter wiggled around in her hands, probably dreaming. The two fiery beings looked to the direction they were heading. The slight glow of the Fire Kingdom was visible just near the horizon, indicating that the land wasn't particularly far.

"Come on, let's get going."

Ferrum nodded and began to take a step forward. However, a sudden force of wind made him stop, along with Solara. The two looked around, looking for the source of the blast. There was nothing within sight. The gust suddenly returned, blowing away anything that wasn't heavy enough to stay on the ground on its own. The wind was joined by a loud humming, causing the fiery beings to look up at the source.

At first, there was the empty night sky, which made no sense considering that the void space was the apparent source of the humming, now also producing the distinct noise of rocket engines. A minute later though, the air seemed to warp, revealing a massive form hovering in the air. As Ferrum and Solara continued to gaze in shock, a colossal space cruiser materialized in the shifting space.

The alchemist's eyes went wide.

"Oh my Grod! What is that thing?!"

"Wenk!"

Gunter was now awake and flapping her flippers, alarmed by the huge machine that floated high above them. Solara gazed in despair at the interstellar ship.

"The Martian fleet has arrived."

As she spoke, at least a dozen more cruisers materialized within a several mile radius of the first. The trio was frozen in horror as the ships began descending to the ground, using powerful afterburners along the bottom hull to slow the journey. A second later, a large spotlight was shined onto the Ooocians and precursor below, emitted from the mass of the nearest Martian transport.

Solara grabbed Ferrum by the arm and shoved him back to the cab. As the man hit the door, the angelic woman walked to the other side and placed Gunter in through the open window, buckling the little bird in. She patted her head and gave the big eyes a smile. Afterwards, the Ancestral Flame got to the back of Hot Daniel, a determined look on her face.

Ferrum was bewildered as he watched her begin to turn herself into her flame form.

"What are you doing!?"

Solara scowled at the fire elemental.

"Get in the truck! I'm getting us out of here!"

The alchemist didn't hesitate and flung himself into the driver's seat. Behind him, the precursor suddenly shifted and flew underneath Hot Daniel. The vehicle began to rumble as Ferrum held onto the steering wheel. After a moment, the red truck began to rise steadily off the ground. The fire elemental grew a bit woozy as Solara rematerialized herself beneath HD's mass and holding up the vehicle with her arms and back.

A sharp grating sound was being produced from the source of the spotlight still beating down on the trio. The angelic woman now supporting the crimson pickup quickly burst forward with her flames, getting the truck underway. The moment she was able to move out of the light, a laser struck the ground where they used to be standing, vaporizing a good portion of the area.

Ferrum saw the event and grew more nervous, thinking how unpleasant such a fate would be. Suddenly, Hot Daniel accelerated as Solara put more effort into guiding the vehicle in the direction of the Fire Kingdom. The Martian cruiser began following them, shifting its spotlight to close in on the escaping group. The Ancestral Flame was already getting tired, knowing she hadn't regained enough of her energy. Still, there was no other choice; they had to shake the hostile ships.

The ship fire another blast, barely missing the red pickup and blowing apart more of the earth below. Several more shots were sent out, freaking out Ferrum and Gunter, who helplessly depended on Solara to get them out of there. The precursor did her best to sway side to side in the air, hoping to disorient the aim of the lasers.

For the moment, it was working, noted by how HD was gracefully flying through the night sky, dodging the incoming blasts. However, one shot clipped the pickup's tail end, nearly causing Solara to drop the thing. Ferrum shook about in the cab, desperately trying to hold on. Gunter was frantically making noises, confused and frightened by the continued assault.

The alchemist leaned out the window and looked back at the cruiser. It was gaining on them, its humming engines increasing in volume as the ship slowly bore down upon the fleeing trio. He stomped his foot on the floor, trying to get Solara's attention.

"Isn't there any way to shake these guys?!"

The precursor struggled to answer back through her labor.

"Check and see if the truck has anything useful!"

Ferrum leaned back in and quickly scanned the dashboard. All the various switches and buttons confused him, not sure which would be helpful and which would cause calamity. The fire elemental began sweating lava as his fingers tried to decide what to press.

_Come on Ferrum, Finn said this was an adventurer's truck, there has to be something to deal with alien spaceships, right?_

At the moment, he was too scared to realize how dumb the question was. Giving up, he opted to cover his eyes with one hand while randomly reaching forward and pushing the first thing that came in contact. A click was heard as Ferrum activated one of HD's gadgets, creating a gear-grinding noise from within the vehicle.

A second later, the bed in the back opened up, revealing a hatch from which rose up an object that caused Ferrum's eyes to widen significantly. Sitting in the back, held up by a powerful clamp, was a bomb, painted with a strange symbol colored yellow and black. The fire elemental stomped on the floor again.

"Hey Solara! What is plutonium!?"

Down below the truck's body, the precursor did a double-take.

"What did you just say?!"

Ferrum cupped his hands to be heard over the roaring force of the Martian cruiser, still firing away its laser.

"What! Is! Plutonium?!"

Solara was stunned, disbelieving as to why the man would ask such a thing.

"Why are you asking?!"

The alchemist looked back at the bomb briefly than leaned back out the window.

"There's a bomb hooked up to the back and it has a yellow and black label with the words 'Warning: plutonium based core'."

The precursor thought it was absurd that a seventeen-year-old boy managed to acquire a nuclear weapon. However, ignoring the insanity of the situation, she suddenly came up with an idea.

"Never mind what it is. Can you deploy it?"

Ferrum looked back at the dashboard, eyeing the space around the button he had pressed. He spotted a lever labeled 'boom' and excitedly leaned back out.

"Yeah, I think so! Wait, we can't just blow up the ships! What about the Martians?!"

Solara struggled again as HD's left front wheel was blown off by a stray laser.

"Don't worry about it! Martians themselves a quite vulnerable, they control their military units through mental links from their home world. Blowing up the ships will just knock out their controllers back on Mars!"

Ferrum understood and returned to the driver's seat. He eyed the cruiser in the rearview. Luckily, it was still the only one following them. The rest had landed on the grasslands, unloading tanks, robotic soldiers, and several squadrons of advanced fighter jets near the top of the hull. The alchemist grew nervous again.

_We are so dead._

A sudden bang emanated from the floor.

"Hey! Are you still with me? I need you to be ready when we swing by!"

Ferrum furrowed his brow.

"Swing by? What do you mean swing b-ayie!"

The truck lurched forward as a greater speed, slowly beginning to turn and arc around the cruiser. Ferrum held on while Gunter repeatedly cried out from the passenger's seat. Solara groaned from the effort of turning Hot Daniel around but sucked it up and readjusted their flight to head for the top of the ship.

The precursor could now clearly see the source of the lasers being fired at them, allowing for more effective dodging. Once they had reached the midpoint of the machine, Solara banged on the underside again to get Ferrum's attention.

"Ok, drop it now!"

The fire elemental grabbed the level and pulled it down, producing a crunching sound that echoed through the metal vehicle. A moment later, the clamp in the bed released, which simultaneously catapulted the bomb out the rear end of the crimson pickup. Ferrum and Solara watched as the nuclear device plummeted to the cruiser below, emitting a soft whistling as it went. The angelic woman suddenly turned her head away from the weapon.

"Close your eyes!"

Ferrum and Gunter did as told and covered their sights with their hands, while also bracing for the impact. A few seconds later, an impossibly bright flash filled the night, firing off a beacon of light that could be seen for miles away. For those that witnessed it from afar, it was just a beautiful twinkle followed by a dark orange bloom. For those who had instigated it, it was hell.

The atomic bomb's shockwave slammed into Solara and HD, tossing both figures higher into the air and knocking the precursor briefly out of her senses. Inside, Ferrum felt the cab rattle as if an earthquake had struck. He could swear his teeth were almost blown out of his mouth. The sound of the blast came next, instantly deafening anyone nearby. As Solara looked back at the result of their act, the sight astonished her.

It was like watching a disaster movie, only with the volume muted. Raw destructive energy was tearing through the hull of the ship, ripping its upper decks to pieces as mass power loss flooded throughout the cruiser. The lasers stopped firing, signaling that weapons were offline. The ferocious crimson bloom of flames and smoke poured out of the epicenter of the explosion like water from a bursting pipeline, sending out a blizzard of debris that threatened to tear Hot Daniel and its passengers to shreds.

Solara quickly intensified her flames and kinetically formed an enormous shield of blue fire between them and the approaching flak. The bits of metal were effectively disintegrated by the high temperature of the barrier, saving those behind it from being eviscerated. Dissipating the shield, the Ancestral Flame saw that the blast was wearing off, now giving visibility to the true damage to the ship.

A gaping, smoke billowing hole was blown in the top half of the machine, which suddenly lost power to its afterburners and began sinking to the earth below. Solara desperately pushed her limits, firing herself as rocket speeds toward the ever approaching Fire Kingdom. The black mountain peaks were within range as the precursor lengthened the distance between the falling ship and her friends.

As she regained hope of making it, another earsplitting sound shot through the air, indicating that the Martian cruiser had impacted on the surface of Ooo, grinding through the soft dirt as it was forced to a slow halt, completely ruined. The stop took up about four lengths of the ship itself, creating a wide trench that now scarred the grasslands.

Solara's head began to spin from all the noises that had battered her ears within the past few minutes. Delightfully enough however, her hearing gradually came back as the Fire Kingdom approached up ahead. The precursor took one last look behind at the devastation caused by the nuke. While the detonation itself was monstrous, the resulting radiation would change little. After all, practically all of Ooo existed because of it.

Inside the cab, Ferrum gazed in awe at the power of the bomb they had just dropped. While the disabled cruiser lay peacefully in a ditch, he noticed another two ships growing on the horizon. The fire elemental's stunned expression wore off and he quickly leaned back out the window.

"Uh, we've got a problem."

Solara groaned.

"What now?"

Ferrum looked back at the approaching pair of ships.

"Reinforcements are coming to investigate that blast. We're close enough to the Fire Kingdom that if they get too nosy the land will be discovered and likely destroyed. What are we going to do?"

The Ancestral Flame ran ideas through her exhausted mind. The Martians primarily relied on heat sensors, since most life forms emitted some type of energy. This would be difficult, figuring the amount of rampant energy that the kingdom of flames produced on a daily basis. Regardless, she thought of a plan and called for Ferrum's attention.

"Listen, we're going to have to siphon the Fire Kingdom's heat, as much as we can."

The alchemist was shocked.

"What?! Have you seen how many people are down there? People **made **of heat energy? We'd never be able to pull that off!"

Solara huffed, irritated by the man's lack of faith.

"Ferrum, I need you to stop acting like a child and focus! There's always a way, we just have to find it."

The fire elemental sighed, gazing again at the two cruisers coming up fast.

"Alright then, let's do it."

The precursor grinned, happy to have morale back up.

"Wenk."

Ferrum smiled.

"Yeah Gunter, you can help too."

The penguin gave a somewhat determined expression, curling up her flippers. The alchemist chuckled a bit before turning his attention to the windshield, well, the front opening that used to have glass in it. The ash clouds of the kingdom had receded slightly, resulting in a partial view of the land below. Fortunately, they were headed right for the palace.

Solara noticed this as well and began their decent, aiming to land at the structure. Ferrum leaned back out the window.

"How were you planning to land at this velocity?"

The angelic being frowned nervously.

"I…wasn't."

The fiery man raised an eyebrow before looking back to the closing palace, noticing that Hot Daniel's reinforced front was aimed directly at the walls of the castle. His eyes widened.

"Are you out of you mind!?"

Solara ignored the argument and braced herself as the trio burst through the ash clouds, zeroing in on the palace within seconds. It wasn't that late yet so many citizens looked to the sky to see the rapidly plummeting pickup, growing disbelieving looks as they watched the falling vehicle near the castle. Several of them screamed and hit the ground, terrified of the foreshadowing effects of the impact.

A destructive crash rang through the boiling atmosphere, augmented by blown pieces of volcanic rock from the strike of the truck against the palace wall, which easy gave way to the speeding machine and allowed it to punch through to the throne room, where Hot Daniel struck the ground hard, shocking the two passengers inside and throwing the lady underneath to the side. Hot Daniel bashed and flipped a few times before finally coming to a stop against the back wall of the room, heavily damaged and smoking from under the hood.

"WHAT IN GOB's NAME…!?"

Solara managed to open her eyes as she tried to sit up, her entire body feeling drained, driven on purely by the need to protect the Fire Kingdom. After some struggling, she looked up and saw the source of the voice.

Prince Torcho was staring with a stunned expression at the three beings that had fallen through the building. The fire elemental finally regained his composure and sprinted over to Solara's wobbly form.

"Are you alright?"

The Ancestral Flame nodded before bringing a hand to her aching temple. By this time, a multitude of guards and citizens had rushed into the throne room, concerned about the event they had just witnessed. Ferrum suddenly crawled out of the busted window frame of the pickup, Gunter tightly held in his arms. Luckily, Finn kept a roll of tinfoil in the glove compartment.

Several elementals went to help the duo out of HD's wrecked form. The alchemist sighed as he was held up by a pair of citizens.

"Finn's gonna kill me."

Torcho walked Solara over to her friend, where she gave a weak grin.

"Don't worry Ferrum; I'm sure some alchemy will make it good as new."

The man nodded unsurely. He then placed the little penguin in his hands on the floor, using the foil as a carpet of sorts. One quick chant later and Gunter's blue form waddled onto the bare rock of the fiery kingdom.

"Wenk wenk."

"You're welcome."

The concerned people of the Fire Kingdom gently rested the two exhausted flame beings against Hot Daniel's crumpled chassis, which was already losing all its paint. Everyone tended to the new arrivals diligently, passing up some lava to place on their bruises and some to drink. Ferrum gladly accepted the offers and gulped down the molten rock.

Solara however, shook off her dizziness and looked hard at the prince.

"Torcho, we need everyone to get into their houses or in the palace."

The man gave a confused expression.

"But why?"

The Ancestral Flame motioned for Ferrum to get up, as she did.

"It's a long story but getting to the point, Martians are invading Ooo."

Everyone gasped and began murmuring. Solara fully got to her feet and proceeded to climb up to the ruined pickup's side to stand on top.

"People of the Fire Kingdom, I am Solara. Most might not know me by face but I am known to all of you as the Ancestral Flame."

The room grew into an uproar of astonishment. The fire elementals seemed to just now notice the woman's white flames and angelic appearance. It wasn't until Ferrum performed a simple reaction to make a loud snapping noise that the room calmed down.

"Listen, please. I cannot allow even one of you to perish from the invaders. You are all my responsibility and I beseech your cooperation in protecting the kingdom. Will you help us?"

The palace was silent for a moment. Then, several citizens stepped forward.

"I will."

"As will I."

"Our mother has called, of course we will."

"That goes for me too."

Torcho stepped up to give Solara an admiring smile.

"We are honored to aid you. You gave us all life and for that we could never repay the kindness. The Fire Kingdom is at your service, malady."

The precursor beamed as the rest of the crowd began cheering for their mother, eager to defend their home. She bowed.

"Thank you so much. Now, spread the word, every fire elemental must get indoors. The only way to avoid the Martians is to cool down the kingdom. Me and Ferrum here will be working on the process but all of you need to prepare for the coming threat. Now go!"

The crowd frantically headed out the doors, determined to carry out Solara's request. Many stayed in the palace, aware that their entire families were safely inside the castle. Meanwhile, Solara dropped down from the truck and joined Ferrum and Torcho in a loose huddle.

"How are we doing this?" asked the alchemist.

The precursor thought hard.

"We'll just have to muscle it. While I begin absorbing the heat from the lava, you do the best you can with your alchemy."

Ferrum nodded and went over to begin the plan. The prince turned to Solara.

"What can I do?"

The angelic entity gestured to the group of citizens in the palace.

"Get everyone to calm down. The less heat expelled the easier it'll be on us."

The man nodded and proceeded to the gathered elementals. Solara then ignited her lower flames and shot herself out of a window, heading for the top of the palace. Once there, she landed with difficulty on the roof and looked over the horizon of the black mountain peaks. The Martian cruisers were getting closer.

Taking a deep breath, the Ancestral Flame flung out her arms in opposite directions and focused deeply. After a few deep breaths, she reached out and began feeling the energy of the lava around her, gently beginning to suck the heat from the molten rock and twist it into her own body.

Down in the throne room, Ferrum was still trying to figure out how to help Solara with the operation. Gunter was blowing frantically on the walls, trying to cool them off. He pondered the resources at his disposal, thinking intently as he paced the room. Finally, he brought about an epiphany and snapped his fingers. He knew what to do, quickly heading up the nearest staircase and following it up to the top of the palace.

Meanwhile, Solara was progressively siphoning the power of the kingdom through her fingertips, storing intense levels of heat within her. The woman's flames were bright white, easily acting as a beacon to anyone in the vicinity. However, as she pushed on, she couldn't ignore the fact that it was taking too long.

The lava had barley cooled to a darker shade of orange, still bubbling with molten fury. The precursor grinded her teeth, frustrated at her own lack of strength. Solara's physical energy was also weakening. No matter how much power she absorbed, it was pointless to resist the fatigue experienced by her own muscles and brain. The lady began to sink to the ground, unable to stand straight.

Suddenly, the angelic being felt two arms slide under hers, giving her the support to remain standing. Looking back, she saw Ferrum displaying a triumphant grin. She smiled back, nodding, then refocused on the lava. The process just wouldn't speed up, which was sadly expected as Solara's energy continued to drop. To make matters worse, Ferrum suddenly recoiled and took a few steps back.

The Ancestral Flame's temperature was now too great for even a fire elemental. The alchemist walked around to the lady's front, a look of concern on his face.

"You doing alright?"

Solara nodded dishonestly. Surly Flame Princess would scold her later for not being truthful but this was an emergency situation. Ferrum wasn't buying it anyway but refused to interrupt further. Looking to the lakes of glowing liquid rock, he remembered why he had come up here in the first place.

Positioning himself, the man took a deep breath and held out one arm to the lava, while the other was out toward Solara.

"Conduit Catalyst."

The energy of the lake below swirled up, drawn to the alchemist's limb by the transmutation and channeling through his body before being pushed further along and into Solara's. The precursor commended Ferrum for his idea, but even he knew that it wouldn't do much good. While the Catalysts were powerful, they held nowhere near the strength of the mother of all fire elementals.

Eventually, the fluctuation of heat was too much for him as well, bringing him down to his knees. Solara had also been dragged to the ground, now slowly melting the rock underneath her with the intense heat of her legs. Both beings struggled to continue the plan, refusing to give in to the hopelessness that was growing in their minds.

A minute later, it was lost. Ferrum collapsed fully to the floor, panting and barely able to remain conscious. Solara followed soon after, her hands beginning to char the volcanic rock beneath her. The two managed to crawl closer and flip over onto their backs, gazing with sorrow at the ash clouds above. On the horizon, the two Martian cruisers were nearly past the mountain range that outlined the Fire Kingdom.

Ferrum sighed.

"We failed."

His companion frowned as she struggled to get back up.

"We can't, we won't. Just…have to…get…back up."

The alchemist shook his head.

"It's no use Solara. Even combined our power can't tackle something like this."

The fire elemental's words definitely weren't encouraging, but they were quite true. With both of them unable to cool down the kingdom, the Martian invaders would surly level the land with a shower of lasers. Solara looked over to Ferrum, who did the same, his face miserable. The woman shook her head and held out her hand. The alchemist took it gently and the precursor squeezed it.

"I won't give up. A mother must never give up."

The angelic entity's insignia began to glow, producing a blue and a red overlap of the two symbols for the cosmic locks. Ferrum gazed at the runes deeply, not even blinking. He could feel his heart beating to the pleasant pulsing of Solara's symbols, as if they were calling to him. The man reached up and placed his hand over his own insignia. While it didn't feel any different, he somehow felt a burst of courage.

"Then neither will I. If there can be no success today, then I will try again, and again, and again, for all of eternity."

Solara stared at the alchemist, taking in his statement. Suddenly, her insignia pulsed harder, nearly overtaking her beating heart. The precursor looked over to Ferrum's own runes. She gasped.

"Ferrum…your symbol…"

The fire elemental shifted his view down to the etching in his body. His eyes went wide. The double-ended arrow of Eternity was glowing brightly upon his chest, emitting unique waves of energy throughout his body. He carefully looked back at the Ancestral Flame, who was eyeing him with shock.

"Eternity has…answered your call."

Ferrum lay there, contemplating the revelation. His rune continued to pulse, matching Solara's. Eventually, he gave the precursor a determined look. He tightened his grip on the woman's hand. She took a moment, then understood what he meant, nodding to him. He returned the motion and they both closed their eyes.

The fiery beings took deep breaths, focusing on the beating in their chests. Their two hearts sounded like a light melody, creating a calming tone. Ferrum and Solara relaxed their aching bodies, solely relying on the energy deep within the core of their existence. Slowly, their beats began to match, synchronizing.

_As light seems to fade…_

_A grand ally will fall from the heavens…_

_To unite the bonds of faith and courage…_

_And grant a new force to silence the darkness…_

_Stand and face its endless might. Harmony's Origin._

Ferrum's body flashed white, gathering stray bits of energy from the very atmosphere itself. He could feel divine power filling his veins, giving him the strength to get up to his feet. As Solara experienced the same feeling, she joined him. The two now faced each other, hand in hand and giving each other a confident grin. Slowly, they both closed their eyes and took one last deep breath. Then, Ferrum spoke.

"Conduit Catalyst Alpha."

For a split second, all sound in the world around them ceased, allowing a silent shockwave of white energy to explode form the duo, spreading at incredible speeds across the land. The citizens of the Fire Kingdom were in awe as they watched the expanding halo encompass the entire land, leaving only a sense of peace in its wake. As the ring reached the borders of the fiery land, its expansion stopped, momentarily flashing an eternity symbol over the divine circle of harmonious energies.

With that, the halo snapped back inward. As it did, every trace of energy was caught in the influence of the pulse, swiping it up like butterflies to a net. Everyone gazed in astonishment as the kingdom grew dark, allowing the reaction to gather up every bit of heat in the land, leaving only enough for the fire elementals to get in their dwellings and prepare for the coming ships. The wave collapsed back toward the palace, where Ferrum and Solara were patiently waiting for it. In a matter of seconds, the angelic light zeroed in on them, allowing the alchemist to gently channel the heart of the Fire Kingdom into the form of the Ancestral Flame.

As the exchange ended, the two stepped back from each other. Solara gave a smile, as did Ferrum. The precursor then looked to the sky. The twin cruisers had made it over the range, now setting their scanners on the volcanic land below. Ferrum quickly darted inside the castle, leaving Solara alone on the roof. She eyed the ships carefully before shooting up into the sky. Anyone who was watching could have sworn she had done so at light speed.

As the angelic woman floated high above the scanning Martian ships, she observed their readings pick up nothing of the slightest. A triumphant grin came to her face as the cruisers turned to leave. The massive constructs slowly made their way back to regroup with the rest of the fleet, and attempt to figure out the origin of the previous ship's destruction.

As the machines crossed the borders of the Fire Kingdom once more, Solara sprang into action. Twirling a bit in the air, she readjusted her trajectory and ignited her flames, firing at incredible speed toward the two ships. As her form neared the vessels, she corkscrewed, spinning rapidly as the energy within her continued to make her temperature climb.

She immediately breached the hull of the first ship, melting through the machinery with ease as if dancing a ballet. She held a smile as her body blasted out of the other end of the cruiser, then proceeded into the next one. The same results pierced the second, drilling through as if its metal were cardboard.

As Solara exited the ship's frame, she made one last elegant twirl and looked back at her work. The two cruisers were slowly plummeting into a canyon outside the kingdom, a multitude of explosions could be heard from inside their hulls. The Ancestral Flame, feeling the Harmony state ending, zoomed back down to the palace, eager to rejoin her people.

Ferrum had made it to the throne room, checking to see if everyone was alright. All were well, ranting deep relief to the alchemist. The room cheered as Solara entered through an opening. She landed beside Ferrum, who gave her a hug.

"Way to go. Mom," he teased.

The lady just chuckled.

"Hey now, you watch your tone, young man."

They took a good laugh as citizens started pouring back into the palace, cheering wildly for the two fire beings that stood before them. The Harmony state finally subsided as Ferrum let go of his friend, turning back to his normal bright orange tone. The moment Solara's extra strength dropped however, she felt a sudden pulse of exhaustion. As everyone watched with shock, the Ancestral Flame fell to the floor, out cold.

Ferrum quickly gathered the poor woman in his arms, making sure she was unharmed from the fall. He then looked to Torcho.

"We need to get her a bed, fast."

The prince nodded as Ferrum gathered the precursor in his arms and began following the substitute ruler deeper into the castle. The rest of the fire elementals murmured with great concern, hoping the angelic entity was alright. As the alchemist was swiftly led by Torcho and a pair of guards, he suddenly felt a strange feeling enter his veins. It took a moment, but he realized that his strength boost had departed.

Cursing under his breath, Ferrum watched helplessly as his body gave out, collapsing to the floor with Solara still held carefully in his arms. As his eyes and ears lost sense, his final thoughts rested with his missing friends.

_Be safe you guys. One day, we'll see each other again. I swear it…_

* * *

**_Almost to 200k words. Exciting. And you guys are still reading? Well alright! :)_**

**_Hope you enjoyed and thank you for any comments/reviews!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 34: Not Just Different Universe


	34. Chapter 34: Not Just Different Universe

Chapter 34: Not Just Different Universe

Since the sunlight hit Finn in exactly the same angle as it would in his own house, the human thought for a brief moment that all of the crazy dimensional jumping was just a dream. That is, until he saw the crimson nature of the room around him, reminding the young man that he was actually in Flint's house, his apparent parallel twin. Sighing, the hero looked down, gazing at the peaceful face of his slumbering lady.

The hero just couldn't get over how much of an improvement it was to wake up to the beautiful sight of the glowing fire elemental rather than an empty space that was simply occupying whatever part of the bed he wasn't. As he continued to stare at Flame Princess's quiet features, the fiery girl's amber eyes suddenly fluttered open, immediately searching out for Finn's blue ones.

She smiled warmly as the human's pupils peered deep into hers, forming the magnetic attraction that had become so uniform to them. FP stretched her neck up and placed her lips against Finn's, giving him the upgraded equivalent of the warm rays of the sun heating up his face. He thought it overwhelming how the wonderful young woman managed to cover every aspect of his life that was so pleasantly enjoyable.

Eventually, after a bit of toying with each other's mouths, the couple separated their contact and resumed the simple stare that they treasured above all else. Finn reached his hand up and began running it through the crimson ribbons serving as the princess's flowing hair. Their feeling always reminded him of casting his hand over a fire, a fire made of tickling bands that licked his fingers and added their burning sensation to the one that broke out in his heart, as naturally, anything to do with the gorgeous combustion of nature made him think of the gift that the multiverse had bestowed upon him.

Finally breaking away from the mixed gaze of blue and gold, the two young lovers sadly interrupted the perfect harmony between them by getting off the bed, doing some quick stretches to make sure they didn't strain anything. After nearly a full day of sleeping, their strength had finally returned, granting a boost of confidence and encouragement for figuring out the tough situation they were in.

Wonderfully enough, the morning was so tranquil that the both of them had a silent agreement to not break it with conversation. They wanted the moment to last as long as possible, as it was likely that the two would never get another chance once their investigation began. Although the universe Astrum banished them to was fairly pacifistic, there was still the issue of not knowing their friends' fates and of course, the imminent threat of the dark precursor reaching Eternity.

Flame Princess took a moment to stand by the window, admiring the enchanting sunrise in the distance as Finn had his arms wrapped around her abdomen, swaying gently back and forth and creating a feeling of tangible peace for both of them. Having fully received the bliss of the sun's solar touch, the couple decided that it was at last time to head down and see about getting breakfast.

While strolling over to the ladder, Finn chose to be the first voice, giving FP one more kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning."

The fire elemental smiled back at him.

"Good morning."

Making their way down to the kitchen floor, the two wondered if their host had returned home yet, or if he had come back at all last night. They felt somewhat guilty for not being more concerned, after all, the friendly young man had taken in two complete strangers that were, in retrospect, really 'weird'. As Finn was the first to step onto the correct floor, he smiled with both relief and amusement.

Flame Princess joined him in the same expression as she came up next to the human. Flint was passed out on the floor, snoring loudly with a sword still held in his hand. Around him were various trinkets that apparently came from dungeons the fire elemental had visited yesterday. Several sacks of gold were spilled out on the table nearby, glittering as the sun's rays bounced through the window in the room, sending reflected glimmers in all directions.

Finn shook his head while grinning widely. The hero walked over and carefully picked up the fiery being, carrying him over his shoulder and making his way to the couch. Once the human placed him in a comfortable position on the soft cushions, he gave Flint a gentle pat on the back.

"Way to go, adventurer," he whispered.

Returning to the spot where the young man's loot was lying around, Finn told FP that he'd clean up the mess while she started on breakfast. It was the least they could do for the exhausted fire elemental. The fiery ruler walked into the kitchen as Finn picked up the sword Flint had been in possession of and went over to the side of the room, leaning it against the wall so that it was out of the way.

A few minutes later, the hero had piled up Flint's souvenirs and went over to the ladder to get them down to the weapon room. Flame Princess heard a big crash a few minutes later while she was making bacon. Finn called up, rather weakly, that everything was ok and the fiery girl resumed cooking.

The hero came back up a bit later, holding an ice pack to the side of his head. FP couldn't help giggling as the young man proceeded to scoop up the gold on the table into a massive sack he had procured from downstairs. Moving back over to the ladder with the heavy bag over his shoulder, Finn heard his lady shout out a joke about not tripping and creating a giant hole in the floor.

Once the young man finally finished organizing Flint's hard earned treasures, he moved to the kitchen, beginning to search the cupboards for pancake mix. While the human peeked into each and every pantry and drawer, Flame Princess had a thought.

"Do you think it's a little strange for Flint to have this kind of food? I mean, fire elementals don't exactly eat anything besides charcoal or the like on a daily basis."

Finn shrugged.

"Maybe he decided to go against the curve. If he really is me then I could definitely see that."

FP chuckled to herself as she flipped the bacon strips, causing them to sizzle loudly. Meanwhile, her man had found the mix, quickly beginning to combine various ingredients in a large bowl. The couple found it strangely fun to work together in the kitchen, dashing across to reach various cookware and continue preparing the all-important start to the day.

They were so caught up in their entertaining act that neither one noticed Flint sleepily walk in, rubbing his drowsy eyes and slowly adjusting his vision to observe the couple running around his kitchen. At first, he just stared at his guests, watching as Finn happily began slapping pancake mix in a frying pan and taking a spatula.

Flame Princess had produced a mountain of bacon in a large platter near the stovetop, using her own flame powers to crisp the meat to perfection. Flint heard his stomach rumble loudly from the incredible smell the food was emanating. The growl eventually grew loud that Finn and FP heard it and stopped what they were doing to look over to the now awake fire elemental.

"Good morning," the young queen cheerfully stated.

Flint gave a smile and turned to the human, who grinned and gave a thumbs up.

"Good job there dude, I haven't seen a haul of loot that good since…uh…this one time me and my brother went out to this awesome ice dungeon."

The hero's host raised an eyebrow.

"Really? What's your brother like?"

Finn grew a nervous look as Flint took a seat at the table, curiosity painted onto his face.

"Well, um, he's…older than me, and is kinda lazy sometimes, and use to join me on my own adventures."

The fire elemental laughed.

"Ha! Sounds like someone I know."

Finn gave his own nervous laugh.

"Heh, I'll bet."

After a few awkward minutes of silence, minus the sounds of cooking, Finn and FP brought breakfast to the table, setting down several plates, along with a giant stack of pancakes and another of the mass of bacon. Flint eyed the food with an expression of ravenous hunger.

"Man, if this is how good people in Europe are at cooking then I'd like to visit sometime."

The couple smiled, grateful for the compliment. Before any of them could dig in however, there was a sudden knock at the door. Flint sighed.

"Shoot, I was really itching to get into these."

Finn noticed his friend's disappointment and gave the young man a pat on the shoulder.

"Let me get this one man, you've worked up an appetite."

Flint thought about it for a minute then gave his guest a grin.

"Alright, but only cuz you're awesome."

The human waved him off.

"Aw, come on, I'm just doing what I do best."

FP rolled her eyes at the two boys' exchange as Finn proceeded down the ladder. The hero sprinted through the treasure room and stopped quickly at the door, looking in the window to see who it was. Strangely, there was no seen visitor. Confused, Finn slowly opened the door and gazed outside, searching for the person who had knocked. He hoped it wasn't just some butt who was going around ditching people at their front doors.

Suddenly however, something grabbed onto the young man's leg, tightly embracing it. Finn looked down to see Beemo attached to his limb. The little robot was clearly happy to see someone but he had the feeling it wasn't him.

"Flint! It's so good to see you! And I'm surprised to see you in your- Wait…"

The game box hopped back from Finn's leg, observing the towering being it had latched onto. The human gave a fake stranger wave.

"Hi there. My name's Finn. I'm a guest of Flint's. Who might you be?"

The green robot just grew a look of disbelief on its pixelated screen, with large black eyes and a mouth that was hanging open from some sort of shock. Finn was quite confused. He did look a little like Flint but surly not enough to be confused for him. Beemo pointed to the hero.

"Wh-what is happening here? This is impossible!"

Finn tilted his head, still not getting it.

"What do you mean little guy?"

The game station shook its body side to side, signifying a refusal to believe something, but what?

"Excuse me, I think I have to go back to the Mo factory and have my visibility software rebooted."

With that, the little computer ran away, leaving a most confused Finn to stare after it.

"What the heck was that about?" he pondered.

Shrugging, the young man closed the door and made his way casually back to the kitchen. On the way, he passed Flame Princess on the ladder. She apparently had to change after the bacon platter spilled on her, covering the girl's dress in awful grease. Finn was about to argue why she hadn't just changed the usual way but decided not to instigate a long response from her as to why she preferred 'the hard way'.

The two climbed up to the correct floor and stepped out, making their way to the kitchen in the corner. They were surprised to see Flint already done with his meal, sitting back on the couch with a satisfied look on his face. He waved to the duo as they came closer.

"Hey guys. So Finn, who was at the door?"

The human quickly made sure his story was straight before blurting it out.

"Some little robot thing, but it got scared and ran off when I said hi."

To the hero's relief, Flint just sighed.

"Man, Beemo has got to get over that fear of strangers; it'll do it much better."

Finn un-tensed himself as the fire elemental stood up.

"Do you know where the little guy ran off to?"

The young man looked casually around the room.

"It said something about a 'Mo factory'."

Flint grunted an acknowledging sound and made his way past his guests.

"Well, I'm gonna go freshen up then I'd like to take you two out. There are plenty of awesome places in Ooo to see. And lots of sweet things to fight."

The guy's enthusiasm made Finn beam at him. He then remembered the request he and FP had put together earlier.

"Hey Flint, you wouldn't by chance know anyone who has experience with portals to different dimensions would you?"

The moment he said it, Finn realized how overkill it was. This was furthered by the fire elemental's reaction, which turned into a blank stare. The two outsiders nervously waited for a response. Surprisingly, Flint just burst out laughing.

"Man, you guys are a riot! I've never met more interesting people."

The happy host continued to the ladder, turning his head back to grin and respond to Finn's question.

"Yeah I might know some peeps. In fact, I was going to take you to one of them in the first place. So get ready for a trip to the Candy Kingdom."

With that, he was gone in a flash, leaving the couple to think hard about their next move. Princess Bubblegum was pretty sharp; it was unlikely she'd believe the same story that Flint did. With a few minutes of debate, they decided that if the worst came to pass, it would be easier to just reveal their true origins to the alternate beings.

While Flint was up doing his biz, his guests decided to clean up the kitchen. As Finn gathered up the dishes, FP wiped away all the crumbs and bacon bits that had scattered on the floor. While the girl did this, she suddenly noticed something and stopped her cleaning.

"Hey Finn, what do you make of this?"

The human walked over and kneeled down to the spot where the elemental was pointing. Although the red décor around Flint's house seemed to be a form of fire resistance, it appeared the young man still left partial burn marks on the places where he walked or brushed up against something repeatedly. However, what was odd was the placement of his footprints.

They showed that the fiery being had walked up to and sat down in the chair, but then, there were no prints showing him walking away from the table. FP looked out a few feet away from the kitchen, looking for a clue. She gasped and pointed to the floor that was about halfway to the couch. Finn frowned; there was no way Flint could have jumped from his chair at the table all the way to the middle of the room.

What was more was the fact that the prints in the center of the room were not the kind that resulted from an impact; they were positioned as if Flint had casually strolled across from the kitchen to sit down on the couch. Finn looked up to Flame Princess.

"You don't think he was lazy enough to turn into a flame and bounce all the way over here do you?"

The young queen shook her head.

"I would say no. Besides, doing that would've left a thin burn on the floor from the strike of the fire, there's just a normal walking motion here."

The two continued to ponder the confusing phenomenon until Flint was heard making his way back to the living room floor. They stood up and patiently waited for their host to enter. The fire elemental came in wearing a fireproof backpack with a sword tucked into it. He smiled at his friends.

"Ready to go?"

They nodded as he gestured for them to come back to the ladder and follow him down to the treasure room. When the trio reached the ground floor, Finn decided to take a shot at figuring out the young man's strange movements upstairs.

"Hey Flint, you can't teleport, can you?"

The alternate being turned his head and looked with confusion at his companion.

"Uh, aside from morphing into a flame and quickly hopping several feet, not really. Why do you ask?"

The human shrugged.

"Just curious."

Flint let it go and also shrugged, opening the front door and motioning for the couple to exit first. As the three made their way towards the distant Candy Kingdom, the outsiders in the group grew more and more nervous at how little they knew of what was happening and what could become of them if they messed up.

* * *

The entrance to the sugary land was protected by a pair of loyal banana guards, as it always was, even in the dimension Finn and FP came from. The two sentries waved and smiled at Flint, but gave a curious and somewhat suspicious look to the couple that was tagging along behind him. The feeling of something not right crept further up the teenagers' necks.

Journeying through the kingdom, the trio bumped into many candy people, eagerly giving a smile or wave to Flint, but once again giving his companions the ominous gaze. The fiery young man was too oblivious to notice and so continued until they reached the palace. Flint led the way through the front doors of the grand hall, where there were luckily only a few candy people inside, performing various tasks, all too busy to stare at Finn and Flame Princess.

As the group reached the back of the hall, a familiar face popped in, wearing his signature tailcoat and a bright smile. Peppermint Butler gave a respectful bow to Flint as he neared the striped man.

"Good day, master Flint. What brings you to the kingdom?"

The young man rolled his eyes.

"Peps, you really don't have to bow, it's actually pretty annoying."

The candy person stood up straight and held up his hands.

"I'm sorry, but that's the way it works for you."

Flint groaned as he began explaining his presence.

"Can you take us to Princess Bubblegum?"

The candy person leaned to the side and peered at Finn and FP. His eyes widened immediately and he remained frozen in his tilt. After a moment, Flint snapped his fingers in front of the short being's face. It seemed to work and Pep Butt shook off his expression.

"O-Of course. Follow me."

The three paced behind the servant as he led them into the depths of the castle, strolling down several flights of stairs until they reached a large wooden door. Peppermint knocked briefly on the surface, hoping the candy monarch would open it. Surly enough, lumbering steps were heard approaching the wooden barrier between the group and whoever produced them.

A moment later, the door slowly swung open, revealing an extremely exhausted Princess Bubblegum, who stared somewhat hollowly at her visitors with sullen eyes and the dark bags beneath them, all from behind thick glasses. It was quite obvious she was on her habit of avoiding sleep.

"Hey there Flint, Peppermint Butler. What do you guys need?"

Even her voice sounded dreadful. The striped man stepped forward, a concerned look on his face.

"Malady, you mustn't overwork yourself to such a degree. The kingdom expects their ruler to be vigilant of her own health."

PB brushed him off.

"Pssh, I can handle it. It's only been 90 hours."

The woman swayed dangerously while she replied, clearly delirious from the lack of rest. Pep Butt shook his head and sighed, turning to Flint.

"See if you can get her to sleep once you're finished, I'm done arguing with a science zombie."

The fire elemental gave a thumbs up and the butler nodded. He then glanced over at Finn and FP again.

"Also, I suggest you stop messing with everyone's heads. Your two friends should really be more respectful."

He left in a sour mood, while the trio stared after him with utter confusion.

"Well that was weird. Anyway…"

Flint walked up to PB and gently pushed her back into the room, motioning for his companions to follow. Inside the apparent lab, the fiery young man helped the gummy lady sit down in a swivel chair, hoping she would pass out in the comfy seat. Meanwhile, the two outsiders leaned up against a nearby table, eager to learn something from the remarkable genius of Peebles. Although she was excessively loopy, the princess had a way of retaining her intellect even when deprived of rest, as evidenced by the issue with Goliad several years ago.

"So PB, these are my two new friends, Finn and Flame Princess."

He gestured to the couple, who smiled and waved at the monarch. Peebles just sent back a silly grin and flapped her hand in their direction.

"That's nice. What do you guys need?"

Flint sat down and looked determinately at the candy ruler.

"They were wondering if you knew anything about inter-dimensional portals."

Bubblegum scoffed woozily, as if offended.

"Oh course I do! Who do you think you're talking to?"

Flint raised an eyebrow as PB shouted at a lit candle on the desk rather than the fire elemental.

"Um, apparently a really bonked up princess."

The pink lady pointed sternly at the young man.

"And don't you forget it mister!"

The three teenagers couldn't help but chuckle under their breaths at the hapless antics of the sleep-deprived ruler. However, she suddenly used great etiquette to sit up straight and clear her throat.

"As for dimensional portals, there are several ways to open them. You can build a machine that manipulates the boundaries of space-time, you can search out a 'magical' item that opens one, or you can try to convince a deity to rip one out of nowhere only to toss you in for being a meddling mortal."

She began laughing hysterically, discerning the others. Deciding to wait it out, the teens patiently waited for the heavily degraded common sense of Princess Bubblegum to calm down and resituate. Eventually, the monarch settled into the chair again and cleared her throat.

"But unfortunately, I don't have the materials to make one, if you by chance needed it."

At this, the trio was disappointed.

"And I'm not saying anything about the rhombus junk known as magic. Those wizards are all jerks. Like Finn, remember when we….hahaha!"

She laughed insanely again. Flint furrowed his brow.

"Uh, princess, don't you mean 'Flint'?"

The gummy ruler regained her composure, mostly, and readjusted her glasses.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I can't suggest the third option either, unless you think you can beat up a god. And if you do, you're a butt!"

A yawn escaped her as the woman laid her head down on her desk, closing her eyes.

"Do what you want though, I'm not stopping you."

A moment later, she was out cold. Flint did a few experimental pokes on her shoulder, confirming it. He then turned to Finn and FP, rubbing his neck.

"Sorry about that, guys. She's usually not that loopy. But man, today was just terrible. I hope she gets the sleep she desperately needs."

The couple nodded understandingly, looking sadly at the passed out princess. Flint then went over and placed a small blanket over PB's shoulders. Afterwards, the three left the lab and gently closed the door so as to not disturb the princess, not that any noise could possibly wake her up at this point.

As they headed up the stairs, Finn spoke up.

"So who else can we talk to? Since I don't think we can just track down a divine being."

Flint looked over at his friends.

"Why do you need a portal anyway?"

The couple hadn't really thought of an excuse for that one. Luckily, Flame Princess was quick enough to come up with something before too much time passed, avoiding suspicion.

"It's actually the only way to get us back home. See we got to Ooo by portal in the first place, but something went wrong and it collapsed behind us. So now we're trapped here unless we find another one."

If it didn't seem so random and weird, Finn would've reached over and kissed the girl for how clever she was being. He did however, hide a smile as Flint nodded with satisfaction.

"Oh, ok. Then heck yeah we'll go see someone else. I'm sure my friend Marceline will give us more details."

The outsiders nodded. The fiery young man gazed back at them again, a little nervously.

"Hey, are you guys cool if she's not exactly…mortal?"

The two hid smirks inside their heads and nodded on the outside.

"Sure, we've got plenty of crazy things back home. I doubt this'll be any different."

Flint looked relieved and focused back on climbing the stairs.

"She's a vampire, to be more specific."

Finn laughed.

"Yep, we've definitely got one of those."

* * *

Marceline's cave was no different that back in Finn and FP's Ooo. It was still damp, dark, and completely blown out of contrast by the neat little pink house that rested near its mouth. As Flint walked up to the door, he was careful to not stand in any one spot too long and burn the porch floor. The elemental rang the doorbell and waited.

For a while, there was just silence as the trio patiently stood by, anticipating the vampire to open up in the next few moments. It was daytime however, she could've been asleep for all they knew. Fortunately, while no knock came, there was a groggy and very warped voice from within.

"Come in."

It may have been Marcy's voice, but there was definitely something off about it. Concerned, Flint chose to kick the door open and drew out his sword. His two friends quickly followed him inside.

The house was a mess, with dozens of food chunks and decorations scattered all over the floor. The amp that the musical immortal kept on one side of the room was lying face down in what seemed to be vomit. Hanging on the strange skull above the couch were several aluminum cans, stuck there on the object's horns. A few places contained ripped up carpet and even a hole in the wall as if someone punched it.

Lying on the couch itself was the Vampire Queen, seemingly passed out and looking awful by appearance. Flint ran up and gave her a few shakes.

"Marceline, Marcy! Are you ok?"

Gradually, the raven haired girl opened her eyes, which were bloodshot. She scanned the ceiling for a while before lowering her eyes to focus on the fire elemental. Her lips formed a goofy smile.

"Hey there Flint, how's it going?"

The fiery young man grew a skeptical expression.

"Forget that, what the nuts happened to your house?"

The pale skinned woman moved her head around a bit, examining the numerous problems with her livingroom. Then, she slapped her forehead.

"Oh shoot, that's right! I invited a bunch of friends over for a party. Guess it got out of hand, especially when we started bringing these out."

She held up one of the empty cans that littered much of the floor. Personally, the three visitors thought whatever was in it gave off a bitter and unpleasant smell. Flint looked back at Marcy with a questioning face.

"What the heck does that have to do with it?"

The vampire laughed a bit as she lost her grip on the can, which clanked to the floor.

"You'll understand when you're a bit older, weenie."

The girl calmed herself a bit and looked around, suddenly spotting Finn and Flame Princess. She did a double take and rubbed her eyes. After staring at the couple for a few moments, she groaned and let her head fall back on the couch armrest, which probably hurt considering the thing was very uncomfortable to begin with.

"Damn it! I thought I stayed away from that stuff last night. Ugh! I knew I should've just banned Georgy from handing it out."

Flint was totally lost, as were his two companions. Marceline looked over at the male fire elemental once more.

"Listen Flint, I can't really hang right now. I've got to sleep off this hangover and uh…state of not-really-holding-it-together-ness."

After finishing the sentence, the immortal girl let herself collapse back into unconsciousness, leaving the three teens to ponder what the Bjork she was talking about. Eventually though, Flint gazed at his friends and shrugged.

"Well, the only person left I can think of is my mom. But she's usually really busy so I'm not so sure."

Finn stepped forward.

"Come on man, you've got to be assertive. Your old lady needs to **make **time for you. Just walk in and put your foot down."

The fire elemental thought hard for a minute. He looked over at FP. She nodded with an encouraging smile. Finally, Flint stood up straight and nodded in response to his friends' support.

"Alight, let's do it."

* * *

By this point Finn and FP had given up thinking that there was anything else different with this universe. The Fire Kingdom was still as blazing and hostile as back home, albeit with one major addition of everyone they passed staring at them. However, this time they assumed it was because everyone knew Flint very well, as many of the citizens waved and said hello to the passing young man.

As they neared a fork in the road, one leading to the rest of town and the other to the palace, Flint stopped and turned to his friends.

"Are you guys sure about this? We could be walking into a tough spot. There might be a negotiation or something going on."

Finn rested a hand on his buddy's shoulder.

"Dude, relax, we're right here to back you up. Your wingmen, bro."

The pep talk helped, receiving a nod from Flint. The elemental turned back to the fork and headed straight for the fire palace. FP came closer to Finn as they walked.

"I guess she works for the king or something. I understand how hard it must be to find time for family."

The human sighed sadly, wishing momentarily that he had even had the chance to enjoy his own family. It would've been nice to laugh it up with his awesome father and rough-and-tough mother. In any case, the trio reached the front doors and Flint looked up to the pair of guards vigilantly watching over it.

Immediately, they kneeled down. The fiery young man groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Guys I thought we've been through this, I hate it when you do that."

The two sentries looked up and shrugged.

"Sorry Flint, but it's kind of expected."

The flaming teen let out a breath.

"Whatever, can we go in now?"

The guards stood back up and spotted Finn and FP.

"Sure but who are these two?"

Flint looked back and introduced his companions.

"This is Finn the Human and Flame Princess. They're from a different continent on…vacation."

The outsiders were thankful that Flint had spared them from getting too personal. One of the guards raised an eyebrow.

"Um, are you sure that's who they are? Cuz technically a prank falls under being deceitful and untruthful."

Getting impatient, the fire elemental's flames grew a bit.

"Yes! Ok! Glob, why is everyone having issues with them? Are you not considerate to foreigners?"

The intensity of Flint's argument seemed to dispel any objections to his claims. Although the guards still had doubts, they at least knew the young man wasn't lying. As such, they parted and allowed the three to proceed inside. Finn and FP both felt more uneasy, still unable to figure out the strange behavior of so many of the dimension's inhabitants.

The inside of the castle was more or less the same, but lacked several similarities that Flame Princess thought were quite odd. For one, the lantern containing her father was gone, replaced with a gorgeous chandelier holding around fifty ornate candles. The room seemed more welcoming, with altered architecture of the back half of the throne room.

The last thing that the two outsiders noticed was the throne itself. It did not have but a single seat; instead, it contained two, side by side. Finn and FP gazed in wonder while Flint looked around casually. As the three continued to examine the room, a pair of voices was heard from down one of the corridors.

"…they'll need the proper accommodations, that includes specific bedding and food that they can actually ingest…"

The second voice wasn't exactly in the conversation per say, more like interjecting every few words.

"I know…I know…I know!"

The two sources of the talk emerged into the throne room, revealing themselves as two fire elementals with fairly flustered expressions upon both their faces. One was wearing robes that labeled him as a royal advocate, a link of sorts between dealings of foreign kingdoms. He was busily reading off a scroll as he spoke with urgency to the woman next to him, who looked quite irritated at this point.

She had on a beautiful flowing dress, complete with several pieces of jewelry that signified her status, none more so than the crown upon her head. Her hair was shaped into somewhat of a bloom, tied up and only allowing her bangs to hang down, framing her face, which Finn couldn't help thinking was angelic in nature. Flame Princess was having feelings of curiosity, thinking the lady seemed familiar.

As the royal laid her eyes on Flint, her mood instantly brightened.

"Flint! My dear it's so good to see you!"

The woman abandoned her advisor, who seemed distraught with being pushed off, and picked up some speed to meet the fiery young man head on, grabbing him in a strong embrace. He was quite surprised at the act at first but chose to just accept it and hugged the lady back.

"Hey mom. How's it going?"

The royal held him back with her arms and beamed at the glowing male.

"Same as every day I suppose, although thankfully not as packed as usual. To what do I owe this pleasant visit?"

The Flint gestured to Finn and FP, who were now both quite taken aback by the sudden flow of information.

"These are my new friends Finn and Flame Princess. They're sort of stuck in Ooo and we were wondering if you knew anything about portals to send them back to their own continent."

The moment the flame queen looked at the two outsiders, her eyes remained locked as her mouth dropped open. She brought her hand up to cover the act while slowly backing away in shock. Flint grew a concerned look and stepped toward his parent.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

The fiery ruler took a few more moments to beat back the astonishment and shook her head to remove the sense of paralysis. She looked to Flint with a serious face.

"Flint, where did you find these two?"

The young man was confused but answered nonetheless.

"They were lying outside the tree house. Why?"

Flame Queen stepped back more and settled into her throne, still gazing intently at the couple next to her son.

"If you wouldn't mind," she began.

"Tell us where you're **really** from."

Flint swung around to his companions, a difficult expression on his features.

"What is she talking about?"

Finn and FP nervously held their arms. After a few seconds of wordless debate, they nodded to each other and took a deep breath.

"Listen Flint, we weren't being honest with you cuz we didn't want to jack up everyone's heads. We're not actually from a different part of the world. We're from a different universe."

The human pointed to the fiery young man.

"I'm an alternate version of you."

Flint was frozen in disbelief, letting the revelation sink in. Remarkably, it was the queen who spoke first.

"That's not exactly true, Finn."

The royal stood up from her seat and walked over next to Flint. She shifted her gaze to FP.

"Flame Princess, I honestly can't believe you didn't pick up on it sooner."

The ruler pushed aside some of her bangs, revealing a large red gem on her forehead. The princess's eyes grew wide as the queen then looked at Flint.

"Why don't you show them your other form, dear?"

The male elemental was confused at the request, but shrugged and faced his friends. His flames suddenly began to dissipate, leading FP to take hold of Finn's hand tightly as they both watched their friend's shifting appearance.

"Finn, I get it now."

The human briefly stared at his fiancée. She continued, eyes still on the two beings before them.

"Flint is the name I would've wanted for…"

The fiery prince's flames disappeared altogether. Although his eyes remained a deep amber, his skin was now a nice shade of fleshy tan and his hair shifted to a golden blonde.

"…our son."

* * *

**_Props to those of you who figured this out back in chapter 30 :). _****_Sorry for the late update, Saturday was not friendly._**

**_Anyway, hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 35: Infection or Fiction?


	35. Chapter 35: Infection or Fiction?

Chapter 35: Infection or Fiction?

The science lab of New Babylon was little more than an old apartment building with heavy renovations. Luckily, this was an excellent setup for isolating several experiments or subjects at the same time. As Marcy and PB made their way through the tight hallways, they noticed how few people they ran into while searching for the correct lab. The humans weren't kidding when they said that there was a shortage of brilliant minds running the place.

Noticeably, those who did pass the two ladies were all headed in the same direction, and apparently in a rush. Curious, they decide to follow; they had no idea where they were going in the first place. The scientist had holed up in an extra-large room at the second floor, which seemingly served as the meeting room and diagnostics station. The area was bustling with chatter as the Ooocians stepped inside.

Much of it was indistinguishable due to the constant interruptions, interjections, or plain out arguments. After a few minutes of waiting, Peebles had had enough and cleared her throat loudly. Amazingly, the room actually quieted and the dozen or so people inside all turned to stare at the pink lady that had caught their attention. Marceline smirked a bit at her friend, wanting to make a sly comment about how the monarch's aura of authority seemed to follow no matter what dimension they were in.

One of the humans stepped forward, giving the princess a skeptical look.

"Can we help you?"

His tone was somewhat irritated. Nevertheless, PB took several more steps forward to nearly join the group and stood professionally to reply.

"I'm here to contribute my knowledge to the cause."

A few of the researchers snickered, the majority looked surprised, and one or two joined the first in skepticism. One of those snickering spoke up.

"What are you gonna do pinky, lighten up the room to encourage brighter thinking?"

He and a pair of others let our mocking laughs as Bubblegum scowled at them. The man who had spoken earlier did the same. He then looked back to PB.

"What do you have to offer miss…?"

Peebles was pleased that the human seemed to be the most mature of the group. She held out her hand, which the man shook.

"Bonnibel. Just Bonnie if it's easier."

The scientist nodded and looked back to the cackling trio in the back of the room.

"Shut it you three, show some respect. Good minds are hard to come by these days and judgment is not a quality I accept in this building."

Reluctantly, the inconsiderate guys in the back stopped their bad natured chuckles and settled down, although they retained some expressions of disdain. PB continued.

"I was hoping to examine the characteristics of the undead flesh sample that is said to be here."

The man nodded and gestured for the woman to head over to the other side of the room. Marceline followed her friend through the small crowd of scientists and made it to a large monitor that displayed a cross analysis of a piece of rotting skin and what seemed to be normal human tissue. The gummy ruler instantly began reading the statistics as the head researcher (as he seemed to be) joined next to her.

"It's been a week and we still haven't found any trace of abnormal traits in either the DNA or the blood. We've begun studying brain matter so as to try a different approach but unfortunately no one has managed to bring in that particular piece of zombie."

Bonnibel was listening simultaneously while reading the monitor. It certainly seemed that nothing out of the ordinary with either sample. No anomalies present, no sign of degrading chromosomes, and nothing about reduced cognitive abilities. Finally, she turned to the man.

"I'd like to get to the actual tissue please."

He nodded and motioned for the two girls to head back through the door to the hallway. As they made their way there, the trio passed the three jerks from earlier. They were hardly paying attention at this point, focusing instead on a different issue. One of them scratched his head, speaking to his two companions while he studied a clipboard in his hand.

"I just don't get it, I tried every calculation in the book, the formula just doesn't explain the increase in power output. If we screw this up the generators could blow the whole base to pieces."

One of the others huffed.

"You're not exactly the expert in this subject Jerry. Heck, even Norman over here did better."

The one known as Norman scowled at the man. Jerry meanwhile, scoffed.

"Shut up Blake. I gave you a fair shot at figuring this crap earlier and what did you accomplish? Nothing."

Bubblegum held back from her group as the trio continued to bicker. She stepped over and snatched the clipboard from them. After a few seconds of scanning the page, she also swiped a pencil form Jerry's hand and scribbled over part of the mathematics on the paper. She looked up at the three, a look of disappointment on her face.

"You forgot to carry the six."

After shoving the clipboard into Jerry's chest, the woman stalked off. Shaking off their astonishment, the three scientists relooked the math. It all worked perfectly. As PB, Marcy, and the head of the building left the room, the jerks stared after them, utterly dumbfounded.

* * *

The undead sample was housed in one of the smaller lab hubs, contained in a glass case to avoid potential infection. The man leading the two outsiders stepped around the various pieces of equipment in the room and stopped behind the case. Peebles and Marcy stood by either side and gazed at the rotting tissue underneath the glass. It existed in a petri dish, not showing the slightest bit of activity but clearly had physical traits uncommon to the average human.

The head cleared his throat.

"Well, here it is. If you think you can get something out of it I'll leave you to take a crack at it."

As the human nodded and made his way back to the exit, he stopped and turned one last time.

"The name's Tessner by the way, if you need anything, just call. And, sorry about those idiots back there. Honestly, they are the worst of the group. The ladies here are at least five times smarter."

The two girls grinned and gave a small wave.

"Thank you Mr. Tessner, I'll do my best."

The man smiled back and left through the doorway. Princess Bubblegum and Marceline began a conversation as the candy monarch began searching around for all the materials she would need.

"Man, I forgot how jerky guys in this time were."

PB chuckled at the vampire's comment as she pulled out several syringes and droppers.

"Perhaps the mushroom bomb knocked some sense into them. Maybe that's why primarily princess's rule in the future. Can you imagine Ooo being run by a bunch of clueless princes?"

They laughed at that, but then Marcy grew a mischievous grin.

"I don't know; I'll bet Finn would do just fine after he seals the deal with Flame Princess."

Bubblegum gave an unenthusiastic grunt of agreement as she pulled out several glass vials and brought up a diagnostic on the nearby touch monitor. Marceline raise an eyebrow then smirked.

"You're not jealous are you?"

PB nearly dropped a glass beaker as she twirled to scowl at her friend.

"What? No! Why would I be?"

Marcy leaned against a table and pulled out her ax bass, beginning to casually string the chords.

"Oh, maybe that you've never managed to find a guy all these years. Or centuries to be more specific."

Pebbles scoffed as she returned to her work.

"I don't need a king, Marcy; I do just fine on my own."

The vampire tested her tuning while replying.

"Yeah, you totally don't need someone to back you up when you're passed out in front of one of your experiments, or running without sleep for several days."

The candy princess sighed.

"It's all important but I can do both, I've been doing so for as long as I can remember."

Marceline shook her head sadly.

"Bonnie, I know you're a lot stronger than the gum that you're made of but come on, if you're so smart then admit that everyone needs help at some point. Even I become useless in daytime if no one gets me a hat or umbrella. It was hard back in the first few centuries. I had to wait for life to re-evolve after that stupid bomb, no one to help me or even talk to. After Simon lost the last of his mind it was solo sailing for a point."

The vampire looked gravely to the ground, reclaiming the depressing memories unintentionally. A moment later, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Bonnibel smiling warmly at her. A moment later, she was embraced by the pink lady. It gave a good bit of comfort, just like back outside the gates to the base.

"We have each other Marcy, I think that'll be enough for a few more hundred years."

The vampire laughed at this.

"Deal with your high class brain for that much longer? I might just get bored and walk out into the sun."

PB pulled back from the hug and smirked.

"Maybe I'll find a way to solve that whole burning up problem. Then what would you do smarty-pants?"

Marceline burst out laughing again. Peebles joined in. The two girls stood there for several minutes, gradually calming down. Eventually, the candy ruler went back to gathering the necessary materials and placing them on the long table next to the glass case containing the specimen. After another ten minute or so, she finally cracked her fingers and went over to her assembled little chemistry set. She turned to her companion.

"Mind helping me out?"

The vampire gladly accepted and put down her bass, joining the gummy lady by the table. PB carefully slid on a pair of gloves and depressurized the case, exposing the object inside to the environment. With extreme caution, the princess reached in and took the petri dish, laying it on a microscope she had set up earlier.

While PB was busy looking through the lenses of the machine, Marcy suddenly heard her stomach growl. She brought her hand to her belly and frowned.

"Oh crud, it's been forever since I fed on anything."

Bubblegum looked up from her examination and gave a concerned look to her friend. She quickly proceeded to scan the room for anything red, hoping to prevent Marcy from freaking out and going on a mad hunting spree from lack of sustenance. It didn't go well when she'd gotten stuck underground with Finn and Jake several years ago.

Oddly enough, it took her too long to find a quite obvious source of crimson in the lab. She smiled and nodded in its direction. Marceline followed the movement and smiled hungrily at the sight. With swift motions, the raven haired girl rushed over to get her dinner. Meanwhile, Peebles returned to looking through the microscope, observing the sample.

"Hm."

She reached over and took a dropper. After filling it up with a blue substance, she reached in and squeezed a single drop of the liquid onto one corner of the rotting tissue. No reaction occurred, making the gummy monarch frown. She reached over for a new dropper and filled it with a yellow liquid. After dropping it on another edge of the flesh, she waited. Again, nothing.

"Hm."

The woman abandoned the scope momentarily and made a note on the monitor. Then, she reached for several vials and read their labels, taking several over to the flask she'd set up and began pouring liquids into a measuring beaker. After a few measurements, the lady let the contents slide gently into the flask. PB reached over again and twisted a knob nearby, igniting the burner resting on the table.

The princess moved the flask to a stand above the concentrated flame and readjusted the height of the fire. She looked closely at the reaction within. After a few seconds, the mixture began bubbling and turned a deep shade of orange. Peebles switched the flame off and used a pair of tongs to lift the flask and bring it over to a set of beakers in a holder.

Being extra careful, she poured the contents of the new mixture evenly into the four glass tubes before her. Following the act of setting the empty flask aside, Bonnibel went back to studying the sample while the liquids cooled off. The rotting flesh confused her mostly due to its behavior rather than its cause. The lack of reaction to several compounds suggested a form of immunity. However, there was no way a spread only a week or so old could have adapted that rapidly to such advanced chemicals.

Pondering further, PB didn't notice Marceline walk back over to her, looking quite satisfied with her meal. She decided against spooking the monarch, considering the importance of the task at hand. When Bonnie finally looked back up from the lenses, she sighed and saw Marcy next to her.

"This is really strange. The undead flesh shows no relation to realistic capabilities of infections or phenomena of any kind that could exist in this time. Something's missing."

The vampire didn't exactly grasp the full meaning of what her friend had said but understood the basic message that PB was stuck. Reaching over, the gummy lady felt the air above the beakers. Delighted that the mixtures had lowered their temperatures sufficiently, she carefully slid one out and held it next to the petri dish.

As Marceline watched, the princess dropped a single drip of the substance onto the flesh. It instantly began sizzling slightly, obviously reacting. The two girls excitedly got their faces close to the sample, hoping for the reaction to produce positive results. However, the liquid suddenly stopped its chemical act, lying in a small drop on the tissue, completely neutralized.

PB groaned.

"Darn. We had something there. What else is there?"

Peebles stepped back and leaned on the counter behind her, pondering the situation. Marcy stayed by the dish, looking sadly at the failed attempt.

"It's almost as if everything that touches it is too out of date to even try to stop it."

Bubblegum's head shot up from its hard gaze at the floor. She ran over the vampire's statement again in her head and then snapped her fingers.

"Marcy, that's it!"

The pale girl was confused as she watched her companion stroll back to the table and reached down to take a small handbag from under her hoodie. She smirked.

"Just like you to always keep your makeup nearby."

PB shot a quick glare then returned to digging through the bag. Eventually, she pulled out a miniature case marked with a hazard symbol. As she the woman began opening the object, she explained her theory to Marceline.

"If we can't get anywhere with the materials available in this time period then perhaps something from my own labs will provide better results."

The case contained three vials marked with the same hazard label as the item holding them. Peebles took her time in lifting out one of the tubes and bringing it to her face. With what seemed to be surgical care, she uncorked the glass and laid her eyes on the second of the four beakers she'd filled earlier. Continuing her stride of being precise, Peebles lifted the beaker out of its holder and brought it closer to the mysterious substance she'd pulled out moments ago.

Marceline watched as the two liquids met in the beaker, instantly generating a bright glow which was strong enough to force the vampire and princess to turn away for a second while the reaction finished. When the lamination subsided, the beaker now held a bright green substance, which still retained a somewhat residual glow.

Peebles held the tube to Marceline.

"Could you hold this for a sec?"

The raven haired girl accepted the beaker and stared intently at it while PB took the petri dish from under the microscope's platform. The pink lady then grabbed a scalpel and carefully brought the blade to the sample's surface. With a quick incision, she severed a small piece of it and removed it from the main section with a pair of tweezers. After sterilizing another dish, PB laid the test sample onto it and moved the item under the microscope.

"Ok Marcy, let me see that beaker."

The vampire handed her friend the tube and watched closely as the candy monarch carefully dripped some of the mixture onto the sample she had cut away from the tissue. After quickly looking into the microscope, Bubblegum waited a few moments while her substance ran its trial. The sweet air of success filled the air as she observed the undead cells of the flesh begin to rejuvenate and flush with microscopic activity.

PB stood back from the magnifying device and grinned widely. Marcy looked to her friend in wonder.

"What did you put in there?"

The princess wiped away some sweat that had formed on her forehead and gazed over to her companion.

"I added a concentrated sample of my renovated decorpsinator serum. After the incident where a second zombie outbreak hit the Candy Kingdom I grew more interest in modifying its chemical structure. I started incorporating more genes into the serum's reactive components, adapting it to work on more species other than just candy people, just in case a crazy undead horde happened to be unleashed."

The gummy woman chuckled a bit to herself.

"At first I thought it would be useless to graft in human DNA to the mixture but then I though how bad it would be if we ever lost Finn to the other side."

Marceline furrowed her brow.

"But wait, your cure thing was already able to undo what happened to zombies, why did you have to go through all that trouble?"

BP raised a finger matter-of-factly.

"True, but that was only when it originated from the original candy zombie strain. This new formula regrows and revives dead cells from **any **source, whether from an insane experiment gone wrong or an unholy awakening of the undead."

Marcy whistled, impressed.

"Dang Bonnie, I don't know whether to call you a mad scientist or a paranoid psycho."

The gummy lady shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. No one's dying on my watch, not in my eternal kingdom."

The two girls joined into a small laughter, reminiscing on old times until they heard a knock on the doorframe. At first they were startled, forgetting that other people were nearby. Luckily, it was passed off as a simple jump of fright by the man who walked in, that man being Tessner.

"Well, if I didn't know better you two seem quite excited about something."

He was grinning as he leaned against the counter with his arms crossed. Bubblegum regained her composure and cleared her throat.

"Actually, you're not far at all from the truth. We've found a successful method of regenerating living cells within the zombified victims."

Tessner's eyes went wide with astonishment before he brought his hand up to his forehead and rested the other on his hip.

"Whoa boy. I think someone sent us a miracle with you two. In about an hour you've cranked out the solution to our problem when the combined knowledge of every scientist in this building couldn't figure out squat."

The human walked forward and placed a hand on the princess's shoulder.

"Bonnie, we can't thank you enough. And…I'm sorry I never asked your friend's name."

He held out his hand and the vampire shook it.

"Marceline, or just Marcy."

Tessner nodded.

"And you too Marcy. You guys don't know how much this will help the efforts in rebuilding humanity."

As he let go of the girl's hand, he frowned a bit.

"You're not gonna catch something in here are you? You feel pretty cold."

Marceline chuckled nervously.

"Na, I'm just always cold. It's a weird thing."

The scientist took the statement as true and shrugged.

"Oh well, watch yourself. Anyway, I'll be back in a moment, the others will definitely want to hear this."

As Tessner was about to head out the door, he stopped and gazed at one side of the room with curiosity and a little concern. He scratched his head and looked back to the two ladies.

"Wasn't this wall _red_?" he asked, pointing.

The Ooocian's managed to mask any sign of guilt and simply did a small shrug.

"I believe so," PB deflected.

Tessner took a few more moments to examine the wall then dropped it.

"Huh, ok then. Be back in a few."

With that, he was gone, and PB and Marcy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Maybe that was a little too noticeable."

The vampire interjected.

"Hey, it was either that or drain a few humans and that would definitely cause some unfriendly responses."

Peebles scowled at her companion, but she held up her hands.

"Kidding, kidding, jeez don't take everything so seriously."

The monarch shook her head and sighed then walked back over to the table.

"Marcy, there's something else, something that'll be difficult to tell them if at all."

The vampire grew a concerned look and joined her friend by the work space.

"What is it?"

Bubblegum motioned to the still rotting flesh on the petri dish.

"Those zombie cells are not unlike something we've encountered before. The humans that they were created from were simultaneously killed then reanimated, as if both actions were done within seconds of each other. There was no conversion; actual death was followed by distinct re-creation."

She held up a pair of fingers.

"Two forces were closely at work here, together, possibly under the same consciousness and body."

Marceline took a minute to think over the words before digging deep for an answer to the strange situation. Suddenly, she gasped and looked back to the princess.

"Bonnie, what if someone else followed us through that portal? What if Astrum didn't think it was good enough to toss us into oblivion?"

The candy ruler began putting the pieces together just like her friend, then brought her hand up to cover her mouth, her own eyes now nearly trembling within their sockets.

"Death."

The scientific royal briefly gazed at the sample lying on the dish.

"His power can take life, then the Shard within can bring them back, destructive and hungry for the living."

There was silence between the duo, up until Tessner returned, followed by a majority of the science team. All of them seemed ecstatic; many of them praising the newcomers for the magnificent work of finding a cure. Bubblegum considerately accepted all the compliments, trying hard to get the mob to back away and give her some room. Finally Tessner managed to break up the crowd and stepped forward.

"Bonnie, you and Marcy should definitely be the ones to present this information to the colonel. Come on; let's head to the command post."

The two girls nodded and followed their usher past the congratulations and pats on the shoulder from the other researchers. Even the three jerks from earlier gave an apology. Peebles and Marceline were led back to the ground floor and towards the exit, where a familiar face was standing by waiting for them. PB smiled politely.

"Hello again Lieutenant."

The woman gave a grin and nodded.

"Hey there Bonnibel. I hear you really kicked the other eggheads to the curb."

She laughed as Tessner rolled his eyes.

"Right, anyway Marie, would you care to join us to the colonel's office?"

Lt. Ashton smirked and faced the door to the outside.

"Yeah, sure, nothing else to do and better than talking to you."

With that, the woman opened the door. It was late afternoon by now and the sun had broken through the clouds of smoke that had covered the sky earlier that day. This caused the star's rays to shine at the exact angle necessary to enter the building through the open door and strike the leg of one of the people inside. That person happened to be Marceline.

The girl screamed out and recoiled, hopping back a few feet into the shade, relieving the burning on her skin. Everyone else looked to her with utter bewilderment, except for PB, who looked nervous and concerned.

"Are you ok, Marcy?" the head scientist asked.

The vampire thought quickly and formed a light chuckle.

"Heh, yeah. I think I just stepped on a nail."

The human held his furrowed brow a moment more before looking down sadly at the floor.

"Jeez, I really thought last week's cleaning had gotten all of those. I'd better call the janitor when we get back. Let's go."

Ashton and Tessner headed out, but the two outsiders remained.

"Um, before we go could you guys tell us where the restroom is?"

The two humans were momentarily caught off by the question but quickly regained their sense and smiled.

"Sure, it's just to your right. We'll wait out here."

The girls thanked their hosts and made their way through the door Tessner had indicated. As they made it to the sinks across from the stalls, both ladies began frantically thinking of a plan.

"How the heck am I going to get all the way to the gas station in direct sunlight?"

Princess Bubblegum thought hard about the dilemma, digging deep to find an answer. The candy monarch began pacing back and forth. Meanwhile, Marcy just stared after her friend, nervously trying to think of her own idea. As the pair was contemplating, a toilet flush was heard and a woman soldier stepped out of one of the stalls. She nodded to the two and went to wash her hands.

After drying, the human noticed something strange in the mirror. She looked to PB, then to Marceline, then to the reflective glass. Finally, she shook her head sadly and walked out of the restroom, mumbling about an accident with a flash bang grenade that may have messed up her vision. Peebles gazed hopelessly at her friend.

"Marcy, can't you be a little more careful?"

The vampire shrugged.

"I didn't hear anyone else in here. Not my fault."

The pink lady sighed.

"It would still be nice to remain inconspicuous. We don't need these people questioning the existence of universal parallels. I'm not even sure if humans believe in that stuff."

Marceline didn't really have an answer to that and chose to simply stare at the empty mirror in front of her. Suddenly Bubblegum snapped her fingers.

"I've got it!"

She turned to her companion.

"Here's what we'll do. You transform into your bat form and hide in the pocket of my hoodie. I'll keep you in there until we get to that one corner before reaching the gas station, where I'll drop you off to hide behind something that's shady. Then, a few minutes after I walk into the office, you can transform back and come around the corner telling the guards and anyone else at the entrance that you caught up and head inside to join me."

Marceline smiled widely and seemed pepped.

"That's brilliant! Of course, I should expect that from Ooo's resident genius."

PB blushed a bit at the compliment and nudged her friend.

"Yeah, ok, enough flattery. Let's get going."

Marcy nodded, stepping back and quickly shifting into a small bat. The winged vampire then shot herself into Peeble's pocket, ruffling quite a bit.

"Easy!" the princess complained.

After a moment to readjust, Marceline called that all was good and PB made her way out the bathroom door. Tessner and Ashton were still patiently waiting outside. The scientist wasted no time in noticing the absence of the second lady.

"Where's Marceline?"

Bubblegum motioned to the building behind them.

"She had a bit of stomach issues. She said she'll catch up to us later."

The head researcher nodded and gestured for the two women to follow him toward the command post. PB was careful to tread lightly and not jumble around the bat in her pocket. While the trio was walking, Ashton deiced to strike up a conversation.

"Seriously Bonnie, is it like perfume that gives off that gum scent, or is that bulge in your pocket a huge stockpile of pieces?"

PB did her best to come up with a way to either answer or dodge the question. She chose answering.

"I used to chew it all the time actually, it helps me think, but it's been a while so I'm really not sure where it comes from."

She managed to hide the nerve in her voice. The lieutenant stared at the lady's mass of pink hair.

"Honestly, I'll bet your friend Marcy played a prank or something while you were sleeping one night. It's pretty funny actually to make someone smell sweet no matter where they go."

Bubblegum tired her best to laugh, but the tension was building. Ashton seemed to be getting sharper by the second, no wonder she was second-in-command of a platoon. The soldier continued her babble while the corner approached; the drop off point for Marcy. However, it would be difficult with the lieutenant practically breathing down her neck. Without warning, Ashton reached up and moved to touch PB's hair.

"If those bright highlights of yours are stiff, I'm really betting it's scented hairspr-"

The candy monarch didn't have time to dodge the woman's reach. What was planned to be a simple feel to determine the locks' texture turned into a terrible downfall. What little recoil Peebles did manage caused the lieutenant to mistakenly grab a part of her hair, tearing off a piece of the gummy substance in the process. While PB's eyes widened in fear, Ashton was caught off guard and stood stunned at the wad in her hand.

She brought the hair piece to her face and smelled it, followed by a squeeze. Then, experimentally, she licked the pink locks, following up with a gasp and shocked stare at the princess.

"You-your hair is literally **made **of bubblegum?!"

Tessner stopped in his tracks and spun around to look upon the two ladies as they were in confrontation. Several inhabitants of the compound and a pair of soldiers also heard the commotion and went over to see what was happening. PB began backing away with he hands raised defensively.

"Uh, yeah, it's um, you see I um, went through a traumatic event as a child and, um…"

Sadly, the girl didn't notice a small rock behind her and tripped, falling painfully to the yet to be repaired ground. As she shouted out, she heard another cry of pain. The bat had been thrown out of her pocket when she tripped, exposing the being to the sunlight. As people watched in astonishment, Marcy reverted back to her humanoid form, still screaming from the burns that were appearing on her pale skin.

Bubblegum quickly recovered and rushed over to her friend, kneeling down and pulling off her hoodie to drape it on the vampire.

"Marceline! Don't move, just try to remain clam, I've got you."

While the pink lady tended to the suffering girl, she noticed her crown had tumbled out after she'd stripped the extra clothing off. The golden headpiece landed at Tessner's feet, who picked it up and eyed it dumbfounded for a second before returning his attention to the two girls on the ground.

Princess Bubblegum paid no attention to the surrounding humans, instead focusing fully on her poor companion, who luckily was now hidden from the painful rays of the sun. A minute later, Marcy managed to sit up and smiled gratefully to the candy monarch.

"Thanks Bonnie, I could always count on you."

The pink lady smiled back and comfortingly placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. Before long though, both girl's felt the dozens of eyes trained on their position. They looked up to see Ashton and Tessner, still frozen in shock at what they had witnessed. The head researcher took a step forward, holding PB's crown shakily in his hands.

"What **are **you two?"

* * *

**_I had more time to write this one so hopefully it isn't as riddled with my infamous grammar mistakes._**

**_Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 36: Prism Break


	36. Chapter 36: Prism Break

Chapter 36: Prism Break

_Simon…_

_Simon._

_Simon!_

Ice King's eyes flew open as he brought a hand to his chest and took a gasp for air. For a moment, he freaked out, remembering his final thoughts before losing consciousness earlier. The old man moved his fingers around his chest, searching for the multitude of puncture wounds that should've been on his skin. Remarkably, there were none whatsoever.

"Simon, get up!"

The ice wizard scanned the space in front of him. He was lying on his back so all that was visible was the sky, which contained a gentle snowfall, along with the face of an elderly looking man. Ice King suddenly sat up, panicking again at the unfamiliar surroundings. The world around him was covered in a majestic white blanket of frost, tranquil in appearance and producing just enough of a chill that a normal person would shiver slightly.

Being practically frozen himself however, IK felt right at home as he refocused his attention on the man before him. The stranger was wearing a badly degraded blue cloak, which covered all but his head, as the hood was down. His hair was a silvery white, which also produced a frosty mist from the sublimation it caused. The man's white eyes somehow looked friendly despite their emptiness.

The mysterious being gave a concerned smile and held out his hand, which seemed to be made of pure ice, yet at the same time perfectly flexible like average flesh. Ice King hesitated for a moment, but eventually took the offer and let the stranger help pull him to his feet. Once the old man was standing, he brushed off the snow sticking to his tunic and gazed with confusion at his unknown companion.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

The older man made a small bow then grinned to the wizard.

"My name is Gelum, the entity that resides in the crown."

IK's eyes grew wide as he stared in disbelief at the icy being.

"No way! That's nuts! Wait, if you're inside the crown then that means…"

Gelum nodded.

"You are also currently within the golden object, a realm created from the gem of power that is embedded within it. It is here that I reside, influencing the wearer to embrace the might of ice and snow."

The manipulator gave a solemn expression.

"However, Solara has brought me out of darkness; my heart had been thawed from the madness of my own power. I now seek to truly protect those around me, without the need to control and degrade minds."

He placed a hand on IK's shoulder.

"Simon, I am greatly ashamed for what I have done to you. Your life would've been filled with much more joy had I not corrupted your thoughts."

Ice King filtered the thought for a moment, thinking hard about the icy man's apology. Finally, he patted his companion's side, grinning warmly.

"It's alright man, we're cool. I mean, even if I could've done it differently check out where I am now. I've got two awesome bro-hams, other friends, and a bunch of peeps who want to hang out and ask for my help. As far as I see it, no harm done."

Gelum gazed at the old man's friendly face for a minute, his eyes studying the wizard's expression. After a long period of silence, he managed to smile back and held out his hand.

"That means more than you know, Simon."

Ice King frowned at the offered hand. He looked up to Gelum with a skeptical look.

"If there's anything Finn taught me, it's that there's a real way to do this kind of thing."

The spirit of the crown furrowed his brow in confusion as IK held out his arms.

"You've got to bring it in, bro."

At first, Gelum stared awkwardly at the ground, not exactly accustomed to the type of trust bond that originated on earth. Eventually though, he shrugged and took a step forward, allowing Ice King to give him the intended bro hug. The two icy beings gave pats on the back before moving away. After a quick fist bump, the wizard was satisfied and nodded to his new friend.

"So, how did I end up in here anyway?"

Gelum pointed behind the old man, who turned to see what he was indicating. The vision shocked Simon, who rubbed the back of his neck at the sight of the devastated landscape. There were dozens of massive ice stalagmites tearing through the gentle ground, creating deep cracks in the snowy floor of the realm. These chasms seemed to be whispering, since Ice King could clearly hear a shrill voice emanating from the depths.

"Yeesh, what happened to this place?"

Gelum took another step forward to stand by the wizard's side.

"A powerful force had used your fear to imprison you here within your own mind. The resulting event had obstructed this realm. Normally a simple physical slap to the face would wake you up from it, but I sense no one anywhere in your immediate vicinity. If you want to escape back to the real world, you'll have to repair the damage to this one."

IK pondered the explanation and then nodded.

"Alright, no prob; time to get to work."

The old man rubbed his hands together and thrust himself into the air. With some careful flying, he managed to come up to the first stalagmite. It was firmly sticking out of the ground, leaking a strange dark substance into the atmosphere. IK assumed it was the dark voices from earlier.

The ice wizard held up his hands, which produced a blue hue before firing off a blast of chilling energy at the chasm below. The whispers turned into screams as the void was progressively sealed off from the realm of the crown. As a seamless coat of ice now held the ground together, Ice King flew down to the base of the stalagmite and placed his palm against it.

A moment later, the chilling spire began to destabilize, growing more solvent by the second. Before long, the once towering pillar was reduced to a mere puddle, evaporated into the air as frosty mist. As the finishing touch, IK made some snow sprinkle over the glimmering ice patch, covering the repairs. Gelum came up next to him, admiring the work.

"Well, I suppose I should help out. It is my home after all."

The two cryomancers proceeded to coordinate their efforts to restore the realm, with Ice King sealing off the chasms while Gelum melted down the remaining stalagmites. Both of them used mental energy to keep a heavier snowfall going to cover up the ice patches dotting the ground. Within half an hour, the snowy landscape had been fully healed by their efforts, restoring the peaceful atmosphere of the icy spirit's domain.

Ice King examined their handiwork in midair, encountering only pure, gleaming white as far as the eye could see. He then flew down next to Gelum who nodded with thanks and gave his friend a handshake.

"Well done, Simon. I can send you on your way now."

IK looked hopefully at the frosty manipulator.

"Will we ever be able to hang again?"

Gelum chuckled a bit and laid a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"Of course, someday my friend."

Ice King gave a reassured smile and nodded. Gelum stood back and clapped his hands together, instantly causing a cyclonic blizzard that surrounded the ice wizard. Before visibility vanished, the spirit gave a thumbs up through the howling gale, along with a grin that was matched by his companion. With that, IK vanished from the elder's realm.

* * *

Simon awoke without any fidgeting, having removed the horrible coma his mind had been under. Looking around, he noticed he had been standing the whole time, alone, in an empty room. It was more of a cell really, with three blank, yellow walls and a side occupied by nothing more than a large glass panel, which reached from the floor to the ceiling. Ice King shook off the oddity of the situation and approached the glass.

Pressing his face up to get a better look, he saw that he was in a long hallway containing similar rooms, all with a glass front and three basic walls. Within each one however, was a person. IK noticed a couple of candy people, a goblin, several rock golems, even Breakfast Princess. They were all standing in the middle of their cells, eyes closed and completely motionless. The sight made the wizard shudder.

_Creepy._

Having had enough of the wacky environment, the old man proceeded to form an ice sledge in his hands and swung it back, preparing to smash the glass wall and free himself. As the hammer rushed forward and made contact with the transparent slate, it shattered, not even making a dent in the material. Bewildered, Ice King created another sledge, this time opting for a downward swing. The same result occurred as the icy tool was blown to bits.

Frustrated, IK stood back and began firing ice lightning at the glass. Each shot either ricocheted off the wall or disintegrated entirely. After a few minutes of constant bombardment, the old man grew weary of the act and stopped, panting slightly.

"Dang it, what is up with this stuff?!"

He walked up to the wall and began trying different tactics to release himself. First, he just punched the glass with his fists, succeeding only in bruising several knuckles. Next, he banged his head on the transparent wall repeatedly, which caused the crown to suddenly drop its temperature to such a cold that it burned the wizard's head.

"Ouch! Ok, I'll stop!"

Next up, he tried saying 'open sesame.' Obviously, nothing happened. The following attempt consisted of backing up to the rear wall and rushing at the glass full speed, ramming into it with his shoulder. Again, no effect. Growing hopeless by the minute, Ice King eventually just sat on the ground exhausted, shouting insults at the indestructible wall. He then tired something different. After calming himself, he dove deep into his mind, contemplating an idea instead of just rushing in with brute force.

_Come on man, think outside the box._

Simon opened his eyes, staring with revelation at the glass. He stood up and walked over, placing a hand gently on the transparent surface. As best he could tell, there was some fog leaking into the hallway of wherever he was at, suggesting that the structure was the source of the eerie mist from earlier in the candy palace. Growing a grin, the wizard took a step back and held up his hand, emitting a blue hue from it and aiming at the mist.

Slowly but surely, the fog became more and more condensed, generating a light frosty mass in the air, which continued to harden until finally, an ice ball was formed from the loose water vapor. Happy with the results, Ice King backed up to the side of his cell and turned away from the glass. Then, with one swift motion, he launched the ice ball straight at the stubborn wall, which instantly let out a shattering sound as the solid material hit the glass, proving that it was only indestructible on the inside.

As the numerous shards settled on the ground, Ice King carefully stepped over the mess and made his way out of the cell. Free of the cubic prison, the old man looked down both ends of the hallway he was in. The corners were within sight, indicating that the place was not infinitely wide. Turning back to the cells along the corridor, he planned the next move.

_Gotta find Jake. Well…my Jake._

Surprisingly, the next room over contained exactly the person the king was looking for. The yellow dog stood silently like the others, eyes closed and motionless. It was still creepy but at least IK knew how to take care of that. With a single ice bolt, he broke the canine's glass wall to pieces, allowing him to step through and walk up to his friend. Simon proceeded to begin shaking the dog back and forth.

"Jake, Jake, wake up man, come on Jake!"

He stopped and remembered what Gelum had told him. Bringing his hand back, the wizard came back around and smacked Jake squarely in the cheek with his palm, instantly breaking the magical canine out of his trance.

"Who, what, where!"

After a moment to readjust, Jake saw Ice King in front of him.

"Dude! You're ok!"

The old man was confused.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

The dog examined his companion closely.

"I don't know man, you were like a zombie last time I saw you, and had this really creepy scare face that freaked me out."

Shrugging, IK gestured for his friend to walk out of the cell with him. Once the two were clear of the room, they both gazed down the halls. The strange fog was definitely not as prominent in the structure but it was present nonetheless, suggesting that they were high in the sky where heat would cause the internal weather. Jake suddenly remembered he never told Ice King about what he had figured out.

"Oh man! I found out what's going on in this messed up universe."

Simon turned to listen eagerly to his companion's explanation.

"This thing we're in is a giant prism floating in the air high above the clouds. Apparently Prismo was sent after us through the portal, likely to make sure we really do stay here. And now he's used his crazy powers to scare the pants off everybody and trap them in this huge mind jail."

Ice King almost couldn't take in the information, having to shake his head to throw off the dizziness of thinking. Finally though, he responded.

"How do you know it's him though? I mean sure it fits but it could be any number of other crazy deals."

Before Jake could reply, the two noticed something coming down the hall. Both gazed intently at the anomaly. It appeared to be a shadow, but there was no owner. What's more, it was in the shape of a large hand, which slowly crawled from the floor up onto a wall and slithered over to where the dog and wizard were standing. They looked in confusion as to the strange event.

The hand halted its movements as it reached the spot on the wall directly in front of the duo. Suddenly, a fiery source was ignited in the shadow's palm, aimed directly at Jake and Ice King. The magical canine's eyes grew wide as the fire began charging rapidly.

"Look out!"

He dove at IK, bringing them both to the ground as a flamethrower was unleashed from the shadow, frying the opposite wall and leaving it charred. The flames halted and the hand shade moved, now on the ground and directly beneath the lying pair. Jake acted fast again, snatching the old man in his arms and stretching his legs to quickly escape the pillar of fire that erupted from the hand.

Pumped with fright and adrenaline, the two escapees ran for it, with the shadow in hot pursuit. As they dashed towards the nearing corner, Ice King spoke through panting breaths.

"So…what's…the…plan?"

Jake looked back to see the hand catching up.

"First, we've got to ditch this shade. Freeze the floor man!"

IK nodded and quickly spun around, unleashing an icy blast at the yellow ground. The chilling substance quickly enveloped the hallway, seemingly making it impossible for the shade to follow. Astonishingly, the shadow slid right over the ice, using it as its plain of travel. The old man's eyes grew wide as the hand came underneath him and prepared another blast.

Luckily, Jake lassoed the wizard and pulled him forward before the poor man was fried to a crisp. They continued their escape, now nearing an opening in the distance. As the corridor ended, the duo gasped, marveling at the sheer size of the prism they were in. The opening led to an incredible view, displaying thousands of cells, all holding an Ooocian hostage in their own minds while their bodies remained unresponsive. With the hand closing in fast, Jake turned to his buddy.

"Get us in the air man!"

Nodding, IK took the dog under his arm and sprang into the opening, narrowly avoiding another stream of flames. As the two hovered several feet above the chasm of cells, they noticed the shadow stop, as if unsure of where they were. Jake breathed a sigh of relief.

"I guess that without his head Prismo's senses are limited to the second dimension."

Thankful for the break in fleeing, the pair waited until the shade slithered away, off to scan another part of the prism for the escaped prisoners. Meanwhile, Jake looked around and tried to spy anyone familiar in the massive collection of people. He spotted LPS, HotDog Princess, a few marauders, a bunch of fire elementals, and even the alternate universe Ice King.

The foreign ice wizard turned away.

"Man that is creepy. And why are you just looking? Doesn't your nose work better?"

The magical dog felt embarrassed, and then proceeded to stick his sniffer in the air and weed out any familiar scents. Ice King then wondered something.

"Wait, who are we looking for anyway?"

The dog motioned for his friend to fly them to the right.

"We're gonna need some help getting out of here. Our best bet is PB. And probably Finn."

Simon nodded in understanding and continued following his friend's instructions to navigate the complex interior of the prism. Eventually, they reached another corridor. The ice wizard was careful to make sure that neither of them touched the floor as he floated them further down the hall.

A few minutes later, they came upon the correct cell, seeing the familiar human standing silently behind his glass wall. However, something wasn't quite right. He looked quite a bit shorter, less built, and all around younger. Jake smacked his head.

"Oh man, we were right on both guesses man. Both space **and **time are different!"

The pair let the info sink in before the dog stretched his fist huge and leveled the glass head on, reducing it to a multitude of shards in seconds. He then quickly reached in and grabbed Finn, bringing the boy close so as to not have him touching the floor. This was well thought, as the shadow of Prismo's hand arrived moments later in search of the disturbance. Luckily, they kept airborne, avoiding detection.

After Ice King flew them back to the large opening, Jake deemed it safe to wake up the younger version of his bro. With a short, firm slap, the human was startled awake and instantly shot his eyes in all directions.

"Huh! What! What's going on? Jake? What are you…who is this guy?"

The hero squinted a bit as he studied Simon carefully. Finally, his eyes grew even wider.

"Ice King? How the heck did you get so, well, not as gross?"

The old man frowned.

"Hey! I was awesome even before my crown shook off a thousand years. Not cool bro!"

Jake silenced both of them with a stretchy hand.

"Ok Finn, I'm going to explain very carefully exactly what's going on, understood?"

The human nodded behind his covered lips. Content with the response, the dog removed his paws and took a deep breath.

* * *

While Jake was filling in the alternate Finn on the basics, he was simultaneously directing Ice King toward the cell containing Princess Bubblegum. Unfortunately, the wizard was becoming more fatigued with each passing minute, unable to support the large weigh he was now carrying. To make it easier, Jake shrunk down to the size of a peanut and hopped on Finn's shoulder.

As the conversation with the boy drew to a close, all the hero could do was stare dumbfounded at his alternate brother. Eventually, he broke out of his shock and furrowed his brow.

"So…how do you expect to get out of this dimension?"

The dog shrugged.

"We were hoping PB could help. We're actually on our way to her right now. Say, how old are you?"

The human was taken aback by the question but remembered that this Jake had no idea of the current timeline.

"Fifteen."

The yellow canine nodded and turned to watch IK's progress as he flew them carefully down another corridor. After another minute, he signaled the old man to stop and they peered at a nearby cell. Sure enough, the pink princess stood peacefully in the room, not moving a muscle. Jake once again bashed the glass, then reached in and snatched the gummy lady. Prismo's security soon arrived once again, trying to search fruitlessly for the escapees. After it departed, the four Ooocians made their way once more back to the chasm, or rather Ice King did, who was by the way exhausted at this point from all the weight.

Hovering safely in the open air, Jake reached over and slapped Peebles across the face. Finn denounced the act but the dog told him to get over it unless he wanted to deal with a permanently comatose princess. As the candy monarch opened her eyes, her reaction was much like Finn's only they were able to calm her down quicker. Once she had settled down and listened to Jake's explanation, PB recovered her royal demeanor and inquired on the outsider's next move.

"Well for one, I don't think Ice King can support all of us for much longer, considering how much we're shaking."

The old man was visibly sweating from the effort to keep them all airborne. It was clear that something had to be done. Jake snapped his fingers.

"I've got it! We can go free Marceline, she's wicked strong."

The alternate Finn and Princess Bubblegum raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" they both said in unison.

The golden dog gaped at them.

"Marceline, the Vampire Queen? Marcy? Black hair, pale skin, plays a red ax bass?"

Both natives of the dimension continued their clueless stares, causing Jake to smack his face.

"Man, this dimension sucks."

After a long sigh, the tiny dog turned to his alternate bro.

"OK man, our other best option it to go free your girlfriend and she'll probably be able to carry you while Simon here takes Prubs."

The two natives just blankly stared at the shrunken canine.

"Simon?"

"Girlfriend?"

At this point, Jake's eye twitched and he let it all out, shouting out like a maniac to voice his frustration. The others covered their ears, except for IK, who had to suffer from the painful outburst. At last, the dog calmed down and took a deep breath. He turned back to the pair of alternates and calmly replied.

"Ok, Ice King's real name is Simon, got it?"

They slowly nodded, not quite sure how that was known.

"And Finn, did you already cause Flame Princess to burn down the Ice Kingdom?"

Both Finn and PB's expressions took the form of stunned glances, as if the canine had said the craziest thing they'd ever heard. The human spoke first.

"Flame Princess? Who the heck is that?"

Bubblegum followed up with her own inquiry.

"Are you saying in your universe she and Finn were **dating!**?"

Finn looked over with an accusatory gaze to the gummy monarch.

"Wait, you know who he's talking about?"

Peebles brushed him off.

"It's a long story Finn. But Jake, what happened? How far did their relationship go? Did her matrix destabilize?"

The woman was firing off questions so fast that Jake was forced to cover her mouth like he had with Finn and Ice King earlier. After momentarily rubbing the bridge of his nose, the canine removed his paw and took another deep breath.

"Ok look. The world is fine, sort of, FP is stable, and their relationship is great, in our timeline anyway."

Bubblegum dropped the subject, but now Finn was suddenly interested.

"What the junk are you talking about man? Are you saying I had a lady?"

Jake nodded.

"Yeah, just chill out bro. I know that me and IK here just pretty much jazzed up your whole life by giving all this future information but the multiverse is at stake so we've got to sacrifice."

PB nodded solemnly.

"Responsibility demands such."

The dog rolled his eyes, a little irritated that the princess still had that line in her head. He ignored it however and turned back to Ice King.

"Ok Simon, head over in that direction."

With a firm point, he directed the old man to fly toward another tight corridor. The wizard groaned sadly.

"Please tell me we're picking up someone who can take off some of this weight."

Jake was about to say yes but then suddenly thought of something.

"Oh crud! First we've got to go find Flambo!"

Ice King gave a pitiful groan of pain and lumbered off in a new direction that the magical dog indicated.

* * *

After what felt like forever, the assembled gang found and freed the little flambit from his prison, recruiting him for the escape effort. The fiery being was given the basic babble about where Jake and Ice King came from and soon accepted it without much objection. After all, it was already a crazy situation to begin with.

The tricky part was finding a safe place for Flambo to stand without burning anyone. Luckily, Peebles had a piece of tinfoil in her pocket, which she wrapped around her hand to hold the tiny fire creature. With that settled, the group headed off to find the princess of flames herself.

By this point, Simon was moving at an extremely slow rate, barely keeping his friends off the ground while they entered another corridor. As they finally closed in on Flame Princess's location, Ice King lost the rest of his energy, sinking and eventually falling flat on his face to the floor, groaning with exhaustion.

Jake panicked, thinking for a moment that Prismo's shadow would come hunting them down. He was right. Within moments, both of the corrupted wishmaster's hands were slithering toward them, trapping the group as they had nowhere else to go but the two ends of the hall. The magical dog closed his eyes tightly.

"This is gonna hurt."

The sound of shooting fire followed a moment later. However, none of it was roasting his buns. Slowly, Jake cracked open his eyes, peering around himself and his gang. The hands were directly beneath them, firing their scorching flames, but nothing was burning. Looking upon his skin; he noticed that it was bluish. Turning around, he saw Flambo looking up at him with a blank look. The dog scowled.

"Why didn't you just do that earlier?!"

The flambit shrugged.

"Guess it didn't come to mind."

After a quick groan, Jake looked down at Prismo's hand to see it stop firing its flames, clearly noticing they weren't affecting anything in the slightest. A grin grew in the magical canine's face as he pointed mockingly to the shadow.

"Haha! Whatcha gonna do now sucker?"

As if to answer bluntly, the shade lifted itself off the floor and punched Jake between his legs, instantly causing him to fall to the floor in pain while the hand proceeded to beat him up. The other hand was doing the same, but was at least being held back by Finn, who was practically wrestling with the massive appendage. The rest of the group tried their best to help out the others but Prismo's hands put up a better fight.

As the number of bruises began to accumulate, they all backed away as the hands closed in, prepared to pummel the escapees to pulp. Ice King was sadly too exhausted to even produce a snowflake. Just as two massive two-dimensional fists were about to slam the Ooocians flat, Jake's massively enlarged arms stretched forward and formed a barrier between his friends and the two hands, which began pounding at the dog's self-made wall. With one quick motion, the magical canine shoved his wall-like body parts outward, forming them to match the size and shape of the corridor in order to completely block them off from his injured gang.

As both ends of the hall were sealed off, Prismo's hands continued to slam their fists against the barrier, earning an occasional pained grunt from the dog. After a minute, everyone recovered and made sure there were no serious problems. Luckily, the group was basically fine and looked to Jake for instructions. Finn spoke first.

"Now what dude? You can't hold them back forever."

The struggling dog eyed his alternate bro with an irritated glare.

"What do you think dude!? Go free your girlfriend!"

The human scowled back as he turned to face the cell glass behind him.

"Shut it Jake, she's not my girlfri-"

The boy shut his mouth the moment his eyes fell upon the beautiful fire elemental standing quietly behind the glass. Her flaming hair was peacefully blazing as her cute face remained motionless. The human walked up to the glass and continued staring at the fiery being, feeling something he never had before. His fist acted on its own, smashing the transparent material instantly and allowing him to continue toward the princess.

He stopped a few feet away, caught in a trance by the girl's graceful appearance. From the hallway, Jake groaned as he received more punches from Prismo's fists.

"Dude, hurry up and slap her!"

Finn spun around and shot the dog a stunned look.

"Are you crazy!? I can't do that!"

Jake groaned again, this time from irritation.

"Of for Glob's sake! Flambo, get over there and smack her awake!"

The flambit frowned.

"But-"

"SOMEBODY WAKE THE FLAMING GIRL UP!"

A pink hand struck the fire elemental's cheek, instantly snapping her out of the coma and causing her to recoil. PB lowered her hand and waited for the girl to recover. Finn meanwhile, stood astonished at the action the monarch had just performed. After a few seconds, Flame Princess recovered from the smack, holding a hand to her face as her flames suddenly grew out. Her amber gaze shot up and zeroed in on Peebles, filled with rage.

"You'll burn for that you jerk!"

PB raised her hands defensively.

"Flame Princess, please! It was the only way to wake you up!"

The girl didn't listen and fired a stream of flames at the pink lady. Fortunately, the flame shield on her prevented any damage. Noticing this, the fiery princess growled and took a step forward.

"Ugh! You are so dea-"

FP stopped when her eyes managed to spot Finn, standing completely frozen a few feet away. The fire elemental seemed completely caught off guard by the human's presence, evidenced by her lowering flames and the magnetic gaze she shared with the boy. They remained like that for what seemed like several minutes before Finn finally managed to speak.

"Hi."

Flame Princess slowly took a step forward.

"Hi."

The human shakily held out his hand. The girl didn't stop her stare into Finn's blue eyes but did raise her own hand to shake his.

"I'm Finn, Finn the Human."

The fire elemental's fire grew a bit at the contact between their hands.

"I'm Flame Princess."

The pair kept up their unflinching gazes until a hand stretched forward and snapped its fingers. The two broke out of their trance and looked to the source of the appendage. Jake had grown a third arm to get their attention. The poor dog looked like he was about to pass out.

"You two can get all mushy later; right now we've got to go!"

The teens blushed brightly at the comment but nodded. Finn reached over and took hold of FP's hand again and pulled her with him to leave the cell. The girl felt a funny feeling in her stomach as he did so. The two, along with PB and the others, regrouped around Jake, who gradually retracted his two barriers to form a protective sphere of his stretchy flesh around the gang.

Prismo's hands bashed the orb repeatedly, only to have the round object start rolling forward. The hands tried their best to stop the momentum but their flat qualities prevented a very firm grip. Soon enough, the Ooocians were escaping down the corridor with the shadows in pursuit once again.

Inside the sphere, the gang was comfortably bunched together. Finn and Flame Princes happened to be squished very close together, causing their faces to uncontrollably flush. Jake meanwhile, struck up a conversation with Peebles while he rolled them away.

"PB, please tell me you've got an idea on how to get out of this situation."

The candy princess struggled to think as the shifting gravity around them caused heavy physical disorientation.

"Well, based on our travels throughout this 'prism', as you say it is, I've determined that the whole structure exists as many puzzle-like pieces held together by a pair of key joints that hold the place as a whole."

A slight bump knocked everyone around, and then PB continued.

"If we can destroy those joints then the entire facility should begin to fall apart. But judging by the scale of the area, we'll need an astronomical amount of energy and power to do so. We don't exactly have the luxury of such resources."

Jake frowned and entered his own thinking. As he continued to roll the gang down the halls, he looked over to Finn ad FP. The two teens hadn't noticed that they were still holding hands. Suddenly, the magical dog gave the two an enormous grin. The human and fire elemental caught this and gazed nervously back at him.

"Jake, why are you staring at us with that smile?"

Finn's inquiry counted for the flaming princess as well, who looked absolutely confused. The yellow canine just grinned wider and looked back at Bubblegum.

"I wouldn't quite say that PB, I think we have all the destructive power we need right here."

By this point, Flame Princess was actually getting creeped out, unconsciously leaning into Finn even more. The human's face just continued its reddening trend as the boy's alternate brother started to let out a slow and mischievous laugh.

* * *

**_Yay! 200k+ words! I'll go ahead and make another periodic thank you to all you guys who read and support this story. You're all awesome!_**

**_Hope you enjoyed and thank you for any comments/reviews!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 37: Platinum Reunion


	37. Chapter 37: Platinum Reunion

Chapter 37: Platinum Reunion

What little sense he possessed told Ferrum that he was alive, not exactly eager to move any part of his body, but alive. He did manage to open his eyes, which instantly caused a fair bit of pain in the ol' peepers. The fire elemental squeezed them shut immediately; worried of continuing hurt if he gazed at the world again. After about five minutes of silence, Ferrum figured he was alone and wouldn't disturb anyone if he reacted badly to the condition of not just his eyes but the rest of his body.

_Ok Ferrum, just do it, just do it right now, get it over with._

The alchemist suddenly moved every single limb at once, determined to relieve the stiffness of his muscles and joints. His eyes followed soon after to try to blink away the soreness in them. Sadly, the man's bravado of standing up to the universe's hickies was met with a full on assault on every nerve in his skin. He couldn't help letting out a horrifying shout of pain as his tendons twitched from the agony of movement.

A few seconds later, Ferrum's sense of touch vanished, leaving him to numbly lie there, wherever he was. The ceiling was not particularly recognizable, being made of the same volcanic material that composed the majority of the Fire Kingdom. He sighed, waiting for something to happen. Luckily, it was only a few moments later that the sound of approaching footsteps was heard nearby.

Ferrum tried turning his neck, but the instant pain gave him a harsh negative to his action. The alchemist groaned, but was at least happy that his eyes had stopped throbbing thanks to a minute of careful blinking. What transpired next however, made his vision pop out so wide that the hurt came back.

"Oh for Glob's sake! You idiot! If you keep moving your pain will just bite you again!"

The alchemist was startled by the loud voice, unfortunately causing further feelings of stabbing due to the jerking of his body. His sight was also fuzzy from the excessive bulging that had been forced. As he groaned again from the reaction, he saw the blurred figure of a female fire elemental standing next to him. He scoffed a bit as he attempted to reorient himself, again.

"Sorry lady but Glob isn't exactly the most dependable person right now."

Ferrum saw the woman raise her hand and bring it down on his temple, delivering further suffering to the poor guy, who couldn't even risk bringing up his hand to rub the aching spot on his skull. He only managed to whine a little.

"Stop being such a baby. Just lay still while I take care of your messed up insides."

The blurry figure seemed to sit down, as her form lowered a bit closer to the floor. She reached over and took a strange jar from what Ferrum assumed was a table next to the apparent bed he was lying on. The burning humanoid then began lathering whatever substance that was inside the container onto the alchemist's arms, giving the nerves a soothing feeling that nearly made the man let out a relaxed sigh. However, what kept him from doing so was the odd sense of familiarity that was around the fiery lady. He gazed curiously at her as he struggled to readjust his eyes.

The two fire elementals remained in silence for a while until the woman finished applying the weird cream or whatever that was somehow nonflammable. She sat with her arms in her lap, likely staring into Ferrum's blurred eyes, since he could tell which direction her head was positioned in. He let out a breath.

"Ok, sorry for acting like a wuss, I just thought it would be the appropriate response to having every bit of the Fire Kingdom's energy transferred through my body."

The woman tilted her head.

"How do you know that's what's causing the pain?"

Ferrum smirked.

"I'm an alchemist, I know a lot about energy flows."

As he said it, he was sure he'd get another smack for being a bit arrogant while he was the one nearly crippled on a bed. However, instead, the man saw the face of the lady come closer to him.

"Then maybe, this will help…"

As the bedridden fire elemental felt his eyes grow wider, his companion leaned down closer and placed her lips against his. Instantly, Ferrum could feel his flames grow out a few inches, along with a rejuvenation to his internal heat, seemingly fixing the tangled up energy flow that resulted from the extreme amount of power that he had conducted through his body earlier.

As for the kiss, he had not seen it coming in the least. Regardless, his heart rate had increased significantly and his mind was quite occupied with wondering who this girl was. He knew her from somewhere, the feel of her lips was known to him, but from where? Rather than ponder further though, he gently closed his own eyes and returned the action. Time seemed to slip away momentarily as Ferrum suddenly used his heart instead of his brain to figure things out.

He reached out to her, using the recovering flow within him to search out the lady's own heart. There was no resistance from her energy, which seemed to go so far as to guide him to her beating organ. As a link was established between them, Ferrum's eyes nearly flung open. But he didn't dare interrupt; he could hardly believe what was happening and did not in the slightest want to end it.

The alchemist experimentally tried moving his arm. Pleasantly enough, it didn't send needles through his nerves to do so. He went further, wiggling his fingers to try to unstiffen them. He succeeded. Taking the next action, Ferrum slowly lifted his hand up to meet the cheek of the girl settled over him. She didn't reject the contact when he finally felt the soft skin of her face; if nothing it made her lean into him even more. The joined pair held the kiss so long that both lost track of time, not quite sure if it even existed while they continued the act.

Eventually, Ferrum felt a drop of fresh lava fall on his face. A second later came another, then another, until the drops became a thin stream flowing onto his skin from that of the woman. Reactivating his other arm, the man reached up carefully and ever so precisely cleared the line of tears from the girl's gently shut eyes. Feeling that the kiss was coming to an end, Ferrum loosened his lips and allowed the lady to sit back upright.

His vision had fully returned by this point, granting the man a clear view of the fire elemental next to him. She had the same, rare, humanoid form as Flame Princess, with obvious differences including her age, which seemed close to Ferrum's, her braided hair, which was slung over her left side, and a hidden expression upon her face that suggested she was a nurturer, ever ready to help those in need.

While her appearance was proof enough for the alchemist, it was further given by the necklace that was hanging from her neck. The chain itself was nothing that special, a basic design that Ferrum himself had worked with many times, but the real attraction was the heart shaped locket that was suspended from the silver links. Just by sight, he knew what it was made of, and the fact that **he **made it. The blacksmith never forgot a project or craft, that's just how dedicated he was to quality. Each accomplishment was worth recognizing for all time.

This particular work meant a great deal of significance to him, since the locket's twin never left the security of his neck. He felt like reaching up to make sure it was still there, but that was unnecessary. In all the activity, Ferrum hadn't noticed until now that the platinum heart lying against his chest had warmed up slightly. Contained within the locket were two things: a picture of himself, along with the woman he had fallen in love with and swore to protect, and a tiny object that few people, even fire elementals, would recognize.

It was a tiny fragment of someone's elemental matrix, _her _elemental matrix; the girl that still gazed down at Ferrum as he continued to lie in bed, since he hadn't had the chance to restore movement to the rest of his body. She reached up with her hand and brought it to her collar, where she took hold of the identical copy of the alchemist's necklace.

The contents of hers were nearly the same: a picture of her and the man she'd fallen in love with, along with a fragment of an elemental matrix, which just so happened to be Ferrum's. Years ago, to symbolize their connection, the alchemist had extracted a tiny piece of both his own and his love's fiery core, exchanging them so as to always have the other within reach.

Since an elemental's matrix was adjacent to their heart, it stood to reason that the link Ferrum had created with the girl moments ago had also linked their cores, which caused the fragments within their lockets to burn brighter and hotter. This was the final evidence that revealed the woman's identity, not that Ferrum was ignorant enough to have not figured it out the moment his heart had forged a bond with hers. He had done it before, which explained why it was so easy the second time.

"Flara…"

The female fire elemental stared back into the man's eyes, peering deeply into his pupils as he struggled to speak past the shock in his mind.

"…why did you…"

The girl took hold of Ferrum's hand in her own, proceeding to gently stroke the back of it with her thumb. Her lips finally managed to form a half-hearted smile, which immediately caused the incapacitated man's heart to beat a little faster.

"To say thank you, for helping to save everyone, including me and my mother."

She hesitated for a moment, deciding what to say next. Ferrum patiently waited, continuing his magnetic hold on the lady's beautiful face.

"And to apologize…for doubting you."

The alchemist lie stunned, disbelieving that such words would be leaving the girl's mouth. The incident all those years ago was a grievous scar on his heart, reminding him of how cautious he had to be when using the full extent of his powers. He had caused great damage to the city, along with the deaths of several fire elementals. Sure they were vicious and vile thugs but their fates were undeserving nonetheless. What was worst of all for Ferrum, was that he had broken a promise he'd made to the woman he loved.

"But…what I did-"

Flara quickly reached up and placed a finger over the man's lips. She lightly shook her head before resuming eye contact with the alchemist.

"Ferrum, no being, mortal or otherwise, is safe from making a mistake. I've made many, and done my best to make up for them. Your friend Finn, the human who would give anything to protect these lands, has more than made up for his. Our ruler, who once rampaged across the outside world and nearly leveled the Goblin Kingdom, has transformed not only her own values but those of the other fire elementals, granting us peace with the rest of Ooo. And you, the one who helped save the kingdom twice now, and was fully forgiven for what happened all that time ago, now stand as its only hope for surviving the coming invasion."

The girl scooted closer in her chair.

"Outside of this infirmary, the people are waiting for you to get back up, to fight for our home. We all need you to stand up and help us face the coming threat."

Flara reached her arms over to grasp Ferrum's back and chest, beginning to help him sit up in bed. It took some effort, but the man managed to become upright. Following this, the female elemental stretched her arms further and embraced him. For a while, he was still too astonished to move, then gradually placed his hands around her back to return the affection.

"What happened on the dam wasn't your fault. You were concerned for my safety and momentarily weren't yourself. I can't hold that against you, no matter what I think of people with your level of power."

Flara separated from the hug and held Ferrum at arm's length.

"You've used your might more responsibly that most beings in this land; to protect and serve those who you care about and the very ground you call home. It was one of my mistakes to judge your actions so long ago."

The girl frowned deeply and slowly lowered her head, signaling that some unpleasant memories had been brought up. Without hesitation, Ferrum raised his arms and pulled the young woman to his chest, where she seemed to snuggle into him for comfort. The alchemist rested his cheek on the top of her head and finally responded.

"You never told me, where your distaste of power came from. You always asked that I not talk about it. But now, I'd like to try again."

Flara sniffled a bit and placed her arms gently around the man's waist.

"My father. He was a proud soldier serving under the former Flame King, a noble and fierce defender of the kingdom. However, around the time I turned ten, he was given a promotion that brought him close to the king. As the months dragged on, his personality became more cruel and violent, to the point where one day I saw him strike my mom. Every day, I was scared that he would come visit from the military, bringing with him only abuse and sour emotions."

Flara tightened her grip around Ferrum.

"He took advantage of his position constantly. One day, I snuck into his documents and found evidence that he was responsible for helping the king extinguish his brother. He had brutally incapacitated the man's guards, allowing the tyrant to end his sibling's life."

The woman sniffled again.

"My father caught me in the act, burning up the evidence before giving a harsh punishment."

She took an arm and laid it on the left side of her abdomen.

"The scar still hurts sometimes."

Ferrum increased his hold on the girl, wanting to do whatever he could to comfort her and push away the bad memories. She resumed.

"I never believed that power brought any good, it only gave a pass for individuals to take advantage, get past the important restraints of the law and carry out their own sick schemes. It stayed that way for me…until you came along."

Flara tilted her head up to look Ferrum in the eyes. Hers were leaking lava again.

"You showed me how one can use their influence to redeem themselves, the determination to fix any slip in action that would cause discord. Ever since the dam incident, you worked hard to regain the community's trust, and you did. Now here you are, permitted, with great honor, to resume using alchemy to your best judgment and praised for saving the Fire Kingdom and its citizens."

The girl gazed in silence for a moment into Ferrum's caring eyes.

"Can you accept your mistakes? Can you realize, like I did, that they are a natural part of life?"

The male fire elemental pondered carefully as Flara awaited a response. The man recalled his faults; the loss of his temperament, the blind anger that caused him to break the rules of alchemy, the destruction that raged across much of the city because of it. Then he switched over, thinking what had been accomplished.

He had never again slipped up while performing a Catalyst reaction. He had never again lost his temper, even when the situation would definitely trigger it. He had learned firsthand what responsibilities lay within the powerful art of transmutation. He had learned discipline and control in the army, values that he could never disregard. Mistakes. Were they really mistakes, or were they lessons that spread beyond the teacher or a room filled with other learners?

Trial and error, loss and gain, success and failure. All of these were imbued into the very fabric of life, challenges that individuals and groups must overcome to advance the understanding of life and its treasures. Ferrum himself had experienced all of them, sometimes with triumph, sometimes with failure. His own father had once told him: 'Each step you take on the journey to your future is only overcome when you learn something.'

The alchemist slowly craned his neck until his forehead was resting against Flara's. He closed his eyes.

"I can. But you don't have to apologize. I should have realized it myself long ago."

The woman brought up her hand to separate their temples, only to gaze once more into Ferrum's dark yet welcoming eyes.

"I have one more question to ask, if you're willing to answer."

The man reached up and placed his own hand on the one covering part of his jaw, feeling Flara's smooth skin.

"Of course."

The female elemental took great concentration in keeping her eyes locked on his. She clearly barely had the mental strength to look him in the eyes while asking her final question.

"Do you…still have any love for me?"

Instead of using a verbal response, Ferrum reached down and took hold of his locket, bringing it up to show the young woman. She replied by holding up her own charm in her palm. Both fiery beings joined their hands, interlacing fingers as their respective trinkets grew hotter from the proximity to each other. It was this very trait that brought Ferrum to implement the same function to Finn and FP's rings.

While the two hearts pulsed vibrantly between the two fire elementals' palms, the alchemist gave a warm smile to his companion.

"It never faded or rusted, always staying as pure as platinum."

Flara's eyes watered (so to speak) as she felt the words drift into her ears. In a flash, she fired her lips back into Ferrum's, catching him in a kiss to demonstrate just how happy she was that her own misjudgment had been put aside without a second thought from the man she loved. Naturally, he returned the gesture and wrapped his arms back around the woman, overjoyed to be reunited with her and to finally right the final wrong in his life.

Eventually, they separated and stared once more into each other's eyes, attempting to catch up simply by gazing into their souls. Both gave a smile, then one last hug before Flara got to her feet and took Ferrum's hands in hers.

"Ready?"

The alchemist nodded, preparing to stand up. With a little pull from the young lady, he used his own strength to shift himself over and place his legs to the ground. Next, he braced his hips and forced his thigh muscles to lift him up from the bed. As he stood there, he was surprised and delighted to not have his lower body screaming in pain from the sudden movements.

He chuckled lightly, earning a giggle from Flara. The two continued to smile at each other until they couldn't help it anymore and brought themselves in for another hug. The contact grew out both their flames, which seemed to almost swirl together in an embrace of their own. Shifting their faces over, the pair shared yet another kiss, feeling like it was an act long overdue.

As the contact between their lips grew in length, Ferrum suddenly felt a different presence in the room. The behavior of his energy flow determined that it was a familiar form, new to him, but still known. He allowed his curiosity to separate him from Flara's face. At first, she assumed he was just ending the kiss out of lack of breathing, but then noticed the questioning look on his face.

"What is it Ferrum?"

The alchemist frowned a bit as he continued to sense the strong energy around them. He turned his neck slightly to look around the infirmary. There seemed to be no one else there besides himself and Flara. Then he looked at the ground, causing an instant gasp from the man. The young woman followed the path of his sight and gazed at the floor, also letting out an expression of shock.

An average mass of low flames were surrounding them, colored a light shade of pink. While this characteristic itself was odd, what caught the most attention was the shape that the fires were burning in. After a moment of study, the two fire elementals determined that the vibrant combustion had taken the form of a distinct double-ended arrow, which of course, only Ferrum recognized.

His eyes went wide as he stared in astonishment at the event. The flames remained in their position for another minute or so before beginning to retreat, snaking along the floor to the bed behind Flara. Both elementals shifted and turned to watch the fire's exodus, which progressively called for it to crawl up the frame and onto the mattress it held. Finally, the sentient trials of combustion phased into their source, an unconscious Solara, resting peacefully on the covers.

Ferrum regained the rest of his senses as he laid eyes upon his dear friend.

"Solara!"

He rushed over to her side, placing a hand on her arm and looking with concern at the angelic woman's motionless face. Flara joined the man and gazed sadly at the Ancestral Flame's form. Ferrum suddenly remembered a question he thought of earlier and swung his head to face the elemental next to him.

"How long was I out for?"

Flara sighed with a bit of discomfort and looked back to Solara.

"About 42 hours."

This news definitely struck hard. In the current crisis, nearly two days could mean absolute conquest. Flara seemed to read the man's expression and took his free hand in hers.

"Don't worry, the Martians haven't found us. The dark-zone that you and Solara created made us practically invisible. Although, they have set up some sort of station across the lake. We think they're using it to drain energy from the lava beyond the city's borders."

Ferrum was reasonably distraught at the last part but was thankful that the kingdom had gone unnoticed. That however, could be subject to change. The man processed all this as he gazed back at the precursor. Although the white entity now held the collective thermal energy of several square miles, her features seemed calm and peaceful, stating that there was no struggle to contain the monstrous power.

He smiled, thankful that his friend, and distant mother for that matter, was safe. Flara noticed his mood and smiled as well.

"She'll be fine, probably just exhausted from holding in all that energy."

Ferrum nodded and stroked Solara's arm for a moment, then backed away from the bed and let out a breath.

"I guess she'll have to stay like that until we deal with the Martians."

The young woman beside him nodded sadly. The alchemist turned to her, intent on finding out more information.

"So what else has gone on since I was out?"

Flara motioned for the man to follow her out of the room, giving one last look at the coma-like state of Solara. As the pair walked down the next corridor, Ferrum finally noticed other fire elementals scurrying through the building. Most of them gave friendly smiles and a wave as they went on their way. Flara led him through the various hallways until they came to the entrance, which seemed quite packed with fire soldiers.

"What's going on?" the alchemist asked his companion as they made their way through the crowd of military personnel.

"Prince Torcho handed over his substitution rule to the queen's brother, as per the protocol of a potential conflict. Currently, the kingdom's entire force is patrolling the outer limits, making sure that no Martians discover that we're out here."

Outside, the land was quite dark, lit only by the occasional fire elemental walking by. Other than that, the streets were cloaked in near perfect darkness. It was a strange sight for a place such as the Fire Kingdom but then again, circumstances didn't exactly call for normality.

"Travel throughout the kingdom has been heavily restricted; of course, no one's going to stop you, since we'd all be done for if you and Solara hadn't stepped in."

Ferrum grunted an agreement and stared along the horizon, barely sighting platoons of soldiers making their rounds to secure the borders. After a bit more walking, they duo made it to the palace, which had its windows covered up by recently hardened lava.

"They can't risk painting the palace as a target; all light is prohibited near it. Since it's serving as the command center though, the military had to cover up any access to the outside due to the number of fire elementals inside."

The alchemist understood that logic. The last thing they needed was a giant nightlight to tell the Martian cruisers exactly where to shoot. He and Flara proceeded toward the entrance, where four guards were manning the gate. As the pair approached, they gave a salute to Ferrum and stepped aside, instantly letting them pass into the castle. Confused, they went on in with a questioning look.

The throne room had undergone quite the change since Ferrum had last seen it. The space in front of the ruler's seat was occupied by a large circular table, which depicted a map of Ooo along most of its area. What little space was left uncovered by the cartography was filled in by stacks of papers, presumably reports and other bits of information. Lining the perimeter of the table was every high ranking military leader in the kingdom, including all the generals and a few colonels. At the head of the table, seated in the throne itself, was Flame Princess's brother, listening carefully as one of the generals read out a recent movement along the northern borders.

The man noticed as Ferrum and Flara approached and held up a hand to quiet the speaker. Everyone else turned to observe the arriving pair and watched as they reached the lip of the table and took a small bow. The alchemist then added in a salute.

"Good to see you again, sir."

FP's brother nodded with a grin.

"Likewise…lieutenant."

Ferrum's reaction revealed the obvious surprise at the man's statement. The prince just smirked.

"Yeah that's right, you've been reinstated, whether you like it or not."

The alchemist took a step forward, still confused.

"Sir, I have no problem serving the cause but, I never reached the rank of-"

"Tough luck buddy, after much debate, and by that I mean about five seconds of us proposing it and nodding our heads in agreement, you've been promoted. Congratulations."

Flara wrapped herself around her man's arm and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"That's math Ferrum! I'm so happy for you."

The alchemist remained stunned for a few moments before finally shaking it off and giving a humble smile to the girl, then turning back to the gathered leadership. He gave another firm salute, which was answered back by every other militant in the room, including the prince himself. With that, FP's brother motioned for Ferrum to join them at the table.

The decorated leader cleared his throat as attention was called back to the issues at hand.

"General Carbo, if you would continue from where you left off?"

The man who had been speaking before nodded and used a pointer stick to circle a section of the Fire Kingdom on the map.

"Their parties have reached the cliffs here, followed up by several patrols of mechs here, here, and here."

The fire elemental carefully indicated each spot with his tool as the report continued.

"From what we can tell, their strange aircraft use pure atomic heat to drive their engines. We suspect the lava is being concentrated and pressurized to meet the demand for energy, since their home world is too far away to be sending supplies."

The prince rubbed his chin in deep thought, and then turned to Ferrum.

"Do you have any input on the situation, lieutenant?"

The alchemist studied the map intently as the board of generals patiently waited. He noted several volcanoes in the area and raised an eyebrow at their exact locations. The man took a pointer and used it to move several markers over to the spots the destructive mountains represented.

"With some well-placed detonations, eruptions could be triggered at these epicenters, which would result in a massive lava flow that would be carried down the valley here."

He indicated with his pointer.

"They may be more advanced, but the Martians' eyes and ears are limited without direct presence. Their mechanical infantry and tanks won't be able to retreat very quickly out of this crevice, and since their siphoning is taking place here…"

More pointing.

"…then that would likely put their launch stations for the aircraft on the other side of this ridge."

The militants watched closely as Ferrum moved more markers over the geographic map.

"If they're smart, they'll have already realized that Ooo's geography and varied environments makes it difficult for an all-terrain attack, air support is their greatest resource. If that can be eliminated then we've got a shot at outflanking the ground units with the aid of our home-field advantage."

Ferrum put down the pointer and gazed about the room. The leaders were quietly debating his look on the matter. They nodded, whispered some, acted out some movements with their hands, and then finally turned back to the prince. The queen's brother gestured for his board to present their opinions.

"We agree on the idea, explosives are readily available."

"Scouts can confirm the positioning of the 'airfield' within the hour."

"A group can be put together in no time."

"But…"

All heads turned to General Carbo.

"While I believe it is a sound strategy, we unfortunately can't provide any defensive units or equipment for the operation. You're likely to be taking heavy fire from the infantry and tanks while triggering the eruptions. We just don't have enough spare personnel to cover the task."

The room sighed with frustration as everyone stared with a frown at the map. Ferrum cursed under his breath, having not taken into account the lack of resources. Suddenly though, a small voice broke through the room, gathering all attention.

"I might be able to help with that."

The head of each fire elemental turned to the front of the room, where a tiny flambit was standing with a confident grin on his face. Ferrum's eyes went wide with both shock and relief.

"Flambo! Am I glad to see you."

The flame sprite chuckled a bit.

"Heh, you too brotha."

The flambit sprang across the floor on all fours and hopped onto the table. FP's brother furrowed his brow and looked to his lieutenant.

"I'm assuming you vouch for this little guy?"

The alchemist nodded, prompting the prince to give Flambo a gesture to proceed.

"When those crazy ships shows up I went ahead and figured we'd need some backup see? So I gathered a few guys who might be able to helps us out with our odds."

The little flame creature turned around and motioned towards the front of the room where he had been standing. The group now noticed a small assortment of beings lurking in the shadows of the corridor heading out of the palace. While Flambo held up his tiny hand as if to present them, the assembled stepped forward.

One of them was a short fellow wearing what appeared to be half a banana peel as his clothes. He gave a friendly wave. Next came a rather curious individual wearing a purple robe, who had a flower sprouting from the top of his head. He also waved, with his long finger-nailed hands, and gave a smile. On his shoulder sat a most peculiar creature, one that Ferrum thought looked vaguely similar to Finn's bear hat. It shared its companion's friendly grin.

Beside the odd pair were two very familiar faces. A duo of robotic beings were both looking directly at Ferrum. A green game console sat on top of the microwave section of a fellow robot's body. The tread-equipped machine gave a wave with his one arm and a determined grin that was held by his companion as well.

The group walked up to the ring of leaders and stood at attention to properly present themselves. FP's brother stood up and placed his arms behind his back, carefully studying the ragtag gang. He turned to Flambo and the alchemist.

"You really think they can help?"

The two fiery beings at the other end of the table nodded before looking back at their allies. Banana Man, the Maji of Life Giving with Little Dude, Beemo, and NEPTR all looked eager to contribute their part to saving their home. Ferrum knew the robots, and had at least heard of the others at one point or another thanks to stories from Finn, and was well aware of each of their abilities. The man crossed his arms and gave a determined grin of his own.

The prince nodded and gave a salute to the group. They all returned the gesture.

"Alright then, let's get to work."

* * *

**_Actually a lot to say this time..._**

**_1.) Here's the 'new deal' (pardon my Roosevelt), I will continue to write COT chapters every other night, but then I'll use the following morning to proofread it, since I've gotten pretty tired of handing you guys stuff packed full of grammar errors. Basically, update time has been sprung about 6 hours forward, more or less._**

**_2.) Due to overwhelming support, I will be continuing my new fic 'Yin-Yang.' I'll fit in a chapter on it whenever I can, which are luckily shorter than these._**

**_3.) Sorry for the extra EXTRA delay on this chapter._**

**_4.) With a request from a fellow reader/author (Xerion) I will now be responding to any reviews that contain a question or something that's respond-able. I've thought about it before but never got around to it, but since I like filling requests, there you have it. This is in effect as of NOW for all future fics that are not one-shots (obviously). _**

**_Hope you enjoyed and thank you for any comments/reviews!_**

**_next:_**Chapter 38: Unconventional Counseling


End file.
